Unexpected Cacophony
by kunoichi79
Summary: He's making the bargain: The most precious possession of his deceased men in exchange for the thing she failed to protect. It was supposed to be just a simple deal between the desperate weakling and the powerful avenger. But.. what if it becomes a deadly game of lies and pretend instead? Would the end still justify the means?
1. Proper Decorum and Migraine

_Please feel free to comment and criticize because this is my very first time in making a fan fiction. t really helps, trust me._

_Also, confusing or rarely-used terminologies will be explained below._

_I don't intend this to be a Mary-Sue. I have nothing against it but if I'm getting there, please tell me :)_

* * *

"Hey kid, a shrimp like you ain't for a place like this."

I rubbed my fingers beneath my pocket. I could've said 'back off', but then I thought of my job. I kept my mouth shut.

"Hey you, pipsqueak, listen to me while I'm talkin' damnit! You better learn some manners or I'll rub it on ya!"

Finely dressed ladies and gentlemen turned to our direction. I returned their glances, and gave a curt nod as a sign of apology. They only blinked, and I'm sure they're wondering if I was smiling or frowning or whatever. Who wouldn't, anyway? This humongous green mask on my face not only emitted a pungent odor that smelled like carrots and puke, but also covered all my air holes. Not to mention the dark shades and bullcap, I looked like the freaking little version of a counterstrike sniper.

"You sure yer a cop, boy? You think you can handle all these bad asses here? Don't make me laugh. Go home before you piss in your pants!" he cackled like he's the best comedian in the world. _Oink oink snort oink snort drool oink. _

Correction: Earth to sonofabitch? I'm a girl.

"Sir, please be mindful of your offensive language. People causing disturbances will be escorted outside by the guards and will not be permitted to participate in this year's artifact exhibit."I glanced up straight at him as I leaned on the cream colored post. I really don't want to cause any trouble, and there's already too much attention _which would get me into serious trouble anyhow._ Only 40 minutes from our arrival and I'm getting a _really bad _migraine. Dang, I should've taken anti-idiot pills before I got here.

The guards across the hall reluctantly neared, but whimpered like a puppy when they saw golden pig's reaction. Even a blind man can tell that piggy wanted to hit me. Veins stood out on his forehead; his hands, as if of their own will, felt for my neck, and a golden canine showed beneath his greasy lip. They cringed. I blinked at them.

"The hell y'think ye are, huuh!? You know who I am, huh kid!? I'M SO RICH I CAN BUY YOUR LIFE! Don't smartass like you're even worth crap!" His high and nasal voice sounded like a trampled Mickey Mouse as it echoed up to the high, multicolored glass ceiling. The classical band stopped playing. All heads snapped, and a guest's glass cracked due to the ungodly falsetto. Nothing could be heard, except for the crescendo of a surprised _fart_ from one of the poor guests.

Now THAT was unexpected, and utterly weird. But let's go back to the topic, shall we?

Now where was I? Oh, yes. I almost forgot that the rich bastard raised me up to the ground, the same way a mother would carry her newborn kitties: by the neck. As he screamed all the obscenities he can remember, I wrapped my fingers around his wrists, locating it's vital points. Okay, I admit that I have no super-strength or something like that, but really, I just can't leave this guy going senile.

To tell you honestly, I am _not_ the strongest member of our team. And probably never will be. But I was starting to get a bit annoyed. I squeezed the area between his scaphoid and carpals and it gave a satisfying response: He Howled.

"Now would you _please_ let go of me?"

He immediately let go, and I landed on my feet once again. His face was blotched with anger and embarrassment as he cradled his darkening wrists like a baby. I'm not a very violent person to begin with, so my anger dissipated faster than the smell of the glorious shite-infested fart I mentioned earlier. Then an even bigger and broader man appeared behind the fat guy and gave me a wink. I grinned.

"Sir, you are under arrest for publicly harassing a Pazitor. Come with me outside, please." His deep baritone boomed. Everyone shook, cringed helplessly at his overpowered volume, and I can't help but give him a thumbs-up. When you're under Romeo's loving care, not even stray bullets and and cannonballs can loosen his embrace. Except for pickles. And maybe Hisoka. (shiver)

The golden pig bastard man twisted, turned, kicked, screamed for _where the hell his guards were,_ and struggled like a lab rat on steroids as Ole' Romeo took him outside. He can be a beast most of the time, but we all love him like a big brother. In fact, he _is _the oldest member of the Pazitors now. 4 years ago, he made it to the 2nd rank, but let's get to that later. As soon as they were off, people went back to the pleasant chatter and constant aristocratic gossips. Good. I looked around once more, and I noticed two men with a golden boar encrusted in each of one's tie tap-dancing and snatching the free champagne off the silver tray of the timid waiter as they stumbled up to the staircase heading to the Grand Hall.

Ah, there's golden pig's minions. Drunk and clumsy. And totally useless. Now I'm starting to pity him.

I leaned on the cold wall behind me and switched my earpiece on.

"Charlie three, this is Bravo two. Do you copy?" I hear a buzz, click, and there came the horrendous screams of Mickey Mouse. Sirens wailed and car tires screeched on the background.

"Over"

Hah. "How's it goin'?"

I can hear a hearty chuckle. "Lil' Doc, you owe me two glasses of beer."

"Aw, give me a break. He can't be that bad." Sorry, Romeo. I'm not gonna fall for that.

"Thug's big time drug dealer and paid numerous nen users to kill his enemies and reach the top, aside from owning a stinkin' piggery. He's from York Shin." The screams stopped when I heard a car door slam. "Figures, this guy ain't even gonna step a foot inside bars. He'd be flyin' back to York Shin and hire assassins to serve our heads in a platter." I grimaced. He's right on the spot.

"If this was York Shin, that guy would've been legal. Too bad the exhibit's held here at Peace City."

"Hmm... point taken. But..." He paused, and then let out an angry huff. "Why here at Liniste Pacific, of all places?! They're perfectly aware that we have a big investigation goin' on the place!"

"The murder happened after the schedule has been set. I'm pretty sure these men don't like changes, and they always make it clear to everyone that they'd have their way." I sighed. "Old spoiled brats."

"Yeah, Jaran's right. Besides, they have no idea about what happened, anyway! And we all like to keep it that way." Another voice piped in. A medium-sharp voice with a hint of cockiness.

"Krod, don't butt in to conversations like that."

"Old man, you're waaaay too serious. Get laid, please."

"The hell wit'you?! You're just a year younger than me, you moron! Don't you go callin' me like your granddad!"

I rolled my eyes. This conversation's going nowhere if I'd keep up with these bantering idiots. I took note of my surroundings as the people arriving became even more extravagant and sophisticated. I knew some of them, and I tried with the best of my memory to remember their backgrounds. Okay, so there's the Pvoklar Family, the one who owned Balx Hotel; the Gercis', ; then Zenji- the fat guy with circular shades, whose stubby nose broke at York Shin 2 years ago; then there's the Nostrades… wait, what?

"You're just jealous 'cause I'm younger and hotter than-"

"Light Nostrade's here. And bodyguards. And daughter...?" I whispered questionably. I followed them through my eyes even though they're a good 15 meters away from me.

"Yeah, got me surprised. Thought he's bankrupt or somethin.' I thought they're goin' down too." Romeo muttered under his breath.

"You think daughter's got something to do with this?" I raised my eyebrows. Then one of Nostrade's bodyguard, a very small woman who has two large frontal teeth and a hat perching on her head, turned to stare at me. I felt my heartbeat escalate. _Wha..?_

"That's pretty impossible, kid. The Genrei Ryodan leader robbed her nen straight and good 2 years back." He lowered his voice, not wanting anyone else to hear our little chat.

"I bet ya my salary the body guards did dirty work." Krod chuckled.

I shot up at his dry comment. "Hey, Leave it."

I heard a sigh. "Sorry, little doctor. Not meant to pull your nerves on that. Please don't remove my jingles when I sleep"

"You shut up, pervert!" I hissed. As soon I started laughing, I immediately bit my tongue when the woman gave me an eerie smile and proceeded to follow her boss to the Hall. I gulped

What the heck was that all about?

* * *

"Another double espresso, coming right up!"

The lady smiled as I sat down at the farthest corner of the counter table. The exhibit has started an hour ago, and luckily I escaped as soon as Ronald Shwalt, the owner of the hotel, cut the huge ribbon. By the time this whole thing's done, I'm pretty sure I'll have seizures and will not get a wink of sleep due to caffeine overdose.

The migraine had intensified, starting from my left eye, then going straight up to my left eyebrow, until it completed its trip to my entire head. I feel like my head was about to split in half.

Although my vision was starting to get a little hazy, the coffee shop across the hotel, the place where I can relax myself, was a pretty little place. When one enters, the bells right above the door would announce his or her arrival and a courteous little girl in a floral dress and pigtails would greet a _Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening! Welcome to Liniste Coffee shop-the pride of Peace City. Please do feel at home!_

Peace City. Peaceful. My home.

I closed my eyes to trace the geography (and of course to regain my sanity, even just for a little bit).

Peace City is located at the lower part of the Azian Continent. It's the home of rich minerals, priceless rocks, and hardwood trees that attract rich businessmen around the globe. Actually, that's our main export, and York Shin City is our biggest contributor in funds (that's why most of the guests earlier were from there). It was also said that people over 800 years ago or more worshiped many deities and made priceless offerings, so valuable artifacts are found everywhere, especially in temples. Hotel owners can buy them for a very good price **if** the owner wants to sell it. Before, only the original residence can see the artifacts (so that rich muggers will not get too cocky) but that's about to change anytime this moment.

But this place is not very popular, though. Unlike most cities, we don't encourage black markets and exportation or importation of illegal goods is prohibited. You can say that this place is pretty uptight, but I guess that's the reason why we have no big fights in the first place.

I leaned my elbows in the countertable and pressed my head in my palms. Somehow I feel like my head is riding a roller coaster. _I should not be thinking too much, or I might puke._

Right now, the first ever artifact exhibit is held at the biggest and grandest hotel in our city, and that is the place I terribly wanted to get away from. I've been there for two days straight, and I haven't got a wink of sleep for two godamned weeks because I was so busy trying to solve the case of 2 murdered men and one missing woman (all very important people from another country). I have to do the autopsy by myself because there's no way an ordinary doctor can handle the horror of what nen can do to an unprotected body. We can't give this case to the police either, because publicity would only worsen the situation, and the culprit was said to be a very skilled nen user. So the job was, unfortunately, thrown to us.

_Pazitors. The Guardians of Peace City._

"Here's your coffee, Jaran dear."

I snapped off my reverie to look at the motherly figure leaning in front of me. I squinted my eyes twice to make sure that I was not hallucinating.

"Ah, thanks Mrs. Michiko." I smelled the heavenly aroma first, and then took a sip. The bitter taste sent 1000 volts to my tongue, then to my eyes. She giggled and told me that my eyes turned even brighter than her light bulbs.

"It has to." I shrugged. "My job is quite demanding, after all." I mean, what else can you say when you're compared to a light bulb, really?

She sighed and shook her head. "Really, why do I feel that all kids these days can't wait to grow up?" she twirled around, her low heels clucking once, and stopped midway. She placed her hands on her hips and pouted "Look, Miss Jaran Almanov. I understand your being a Pazitor at such a young age but.. would you _look_ at yourself and tell _me_ what you think?"

I looked down. Dark green cargo pants with a .38 caliber gun in the pistol belt, black boots (with a little mud in them), black jacket with two frontal pockets, one has a syringe and a ballpen, a hard vest underneath (very good, I think, because it hides the annoying lumps of mammary flesh in my chest), and my trusty bullcap. The only thing I loathed was the mask and the shades, which I took off earlier. i feel so _flyyyyyyyy._

"Actually, I think I look really neat."

She growled and placed both hands on my face.

"You don't even look like a girl! You're _eighteen, _but you spend your entire life hiding your entire face and physique in a man's regalia and fiddle with guns? And _would _you look at those enormous bags under your eyes? You're not even sleeping well! My goodness, dear. When I was your age, I had boyf-ahhh! Take that disgusting cap of your head! Where's your hair? Why'd you hide it?" I yelped as she tried to yank my poor cap off my head.

"For Pete's sake, Michiko. -Gackk! This is our uniform! What do you -oww! expect, I'd wear a frilly dress with ribbons?!-wah! It's not like I chose this-heyyy!" I managed to croak under her vice-grip on my neck

I jerked backwards, and was more than happy to be free of the vicious anaconda that could've strangled the life outta me. But my movement was a little too fast and I almost fell off my chair. What is wrong with this woman!? Can't she see that people are staring at us like we're circus freaks?

I wish that a customer would magically appear and distract this crazyoverreacting-

"Excuse me, can I have a cappuccino please?"

I never thought that I can instantaneously get a wish without a magic lamp.

Both our heads turned at the left, and there she was, a tall blond woman who looked like she was ripped off a models magazine. I could've sworn I heard a guy's voice, but I guess I was just pretty disoriented. But well, whatever. Michiko turned into a happy-clappy barista once again, and that was something to be extremely thankful for.

The woman settled herself a seat away from me. It's very rude to stare, so I just stared down at my cup and fought every tantalizing temptation to gape at her. She looked pretty serene, but the air around her was quite intimidating. I guess Mrs. Michiko failed to notice that.

But heck, she was, in any sense, _seriously_ beautiful. Even in my current state of mind.

"One order cappuccino coming right up! What would you prefer, miss, hot or cold?" Michiko beamed like an angel. Like she didn't _almost_ dislodge my head from my neck like a demented Barbie.

"Hot, please. And, also.." Her voice was a bit deep for a woman. So what? A lot of women have low voices due to childhood damages on the voice box, and some because of hereditary traits.

And she was _extremely _flat-chested... well, most of the models I see strutting down the platform hardly has boobs but..

But I can't shake the feeling that something's not right.

Her aura is suddenly spiking up dangerously, and even Michiko, who doesn't have the slightest idea of what nen is, noticed that, and her very bright smile strained a bit. She cleared her throat.

I strained my ears to listen as I glared at my cup.

"I'm a man. Please do address me properly."

….

_Oh mindfucked jigglypop._

* * *

"Huh? A-ah.. I-I'm so s-sorry.. i-I'll get y-yourcappuccinorightawaysir!_"_ Michiko squeaked.

I must've looked like an idiot, staring into empty space like that and mouth gaping. But the logic failed to sink in my system.

_A boy? A man? MASCULINE? Whattt?_

But she looks like a woman!

_Can he be GAY? He must be!_

No, gays prefer to be called ladies. Logically speaking, there's no such thing as a gay being offended to be called as 'miss.'

_He's wearing a SKIRT! A SKIRT for propriety's sake!_

Correction: hello? I'm often mistaken for a boy but I'm not a lesbian. It's the same for blondie. Don't jugde a book by its cove-

_brrrrrrrrrrrr. brrrrrrrrr._

I fished for my phone in my pocket. No, it's not vibrating.

_brrrrrrrrrr. brr-_"Hello, boss. It's Kurapika."

_Ohh. It's not mine after all._

_..._

I slammed my head against the countertable. Pretty boy was still talking to his boss (although I initially thought that _he _was the boss), but my head is in no condition to pick out any information from my surroundings anymore. I can only make out the words: be there.. sorry.. something important to attend.. yes.. no.. of course.. right away..

I was fighting down the strong urge to vomit, and the acidic taste was churning in my throat. My heart rate was picking up, and I clutched my abdomen and below my belly button because of the sudden discomfort. Why, of all the days, must I have to raise the monthly red flag of femininity today!? I groaned. I was still in the midst of calming my tornado of a sense when Michiko entered the scene once again, but now with an apparent pink tinge on her cheeks.

"He-here's your cappuccino, sir. I'm terribly sorry for earlier. I just thought…"

"It's alright. I get it most of the time."

"… R-really, Sir?"

"Yes."

The thought of this cross-dressing guy being a bodyguard.. and running around dressing like that..

_Maybe he's an actor. Or he just belong to a far-off tribe of ancient civilization. Yeaaaah, and their country legalize men wearing skirts but they still perform tasks like plowing the fields and cut trees. Or, hey, maybe its his employer's official uniform!_

Then she cros-_HE, _crossed his legs. In a not-so-masculine way.

…

_... It's official, baby! Pretty boy is a __hermaphrodite! __Part male, part fema-_

I ran to the nearest restroom and stained the pink toilet with caffeine, water, and mashed bananas.

* * *

**Au/D: **

**Carpals - **they are located at the base of the hand, before the finger bones branches off. They allow our hands and fingers flexibility.

**Scaphoid **- A bone on the wrist. It is 'somehow' connected to the carpals.

These bones are connected by a ligament. It's a tricky place, but if anyone applies a good pressure on them (even people with less strength), it can be **very** painful.

-Human anatomy, people. :)


	2. Suspicions

My upchucked remains stayed floating in the toilet for about 10 minutes. I felt too weak to flush it, let alone stand up from the tiled floor (I was thanking the Omnipotent Heavens that the projectile vomit didn't reach _down, down down,_ or I'll have even more trouble with the facility and be the janitress of the whole café). It will always be a perpetual slap on my face that I studied for three _extremely_ _challenging _years in medical school, and here I was, slumped at the foot of the door of a tiny cubicle seeing stars- without any idea of what I was supposed to do.

.._Gastric contents are propelled into the esophagus when there is relaxation of the gastric fundus and gastoesophageal spinchter followed by a rapid increase in intraabdominal pressure produced by contraction of the abdominal and diaphragmatic—_Arrrgh! I can't think about this now! I _**need **_the treatment, not the stupid diagnosis! Treatment.. treatment.. wait, what was it again?

.. "_Listen here ye self-centered, egoistic, good for nothin' fembots who think they can pass medical school!" the cranky old Scrooge of a teacher (I'd hate calling him professor, with that weird wisp of rolling paper stuck on his lip and the ketchup that always stain his white coat every single day-sorry 'bout that teach) he rammed his fist in the air and cackled like a witch. All of us involuntarily jumped, and the guy in front of me-Leoryow (or was that his name?), nearly hyperventilated. He continued "Anticolinergics such as scopolamine are effective for nausea associated with motion sickness and paranoia. Haloperidol and phenothiazine derivatives such as prochlorperazine are often effective in controlling mild nausea and vomiting, but sedation, hypertension, and parkinsonian are common side effects of—"_

Blecuarrghhhh.

I give up.

* * *

I stumbled (or rather tripped and fell flat on my face) out from the café right after Michiko scrutinized my entire (sick and really disgusting) form. She offered me a too tight shirt, which of course I declined and went straight out of the door without looking anywhere else but that dreaded hotel again. I simply removed the black jacket and left the thick vest for everyone to see because it was the only garment I had that didn't smell so bad. It was getting really cold and dark (Alas! The tower clock strikes twelve~Cinderelly, Cinderelly). The elevator lady gave me a polite smile and she pressed the button of my intended floor. Before the doors closed, I noticed that there seemed to be a commotion in the lobby. People were talking loud, and police officers were trying to settle everyone out.

"What happened?" my inquiries were directed to my only companion as we went up.

"I'm afraid I don't have the authority to tell you anything, Miss Almanov." The lady gave me an apologetic smile before she turned her back on me once again. I checked my phone, and wondered if I should be surprised or not to find about 50 voice messages. I wonder, does this lady in front of me who's pushing the buttons _innocently _already knew what terrible luck would be sentenced to.._moiii?_

_Beep._

"Yoohoo! Kiddo, this is Krodd. Where are you? You're missing the fun! Meet ya at the hotel's control room. 299th floor. You hear?"

_Beep_

"Jaran, this is Lara. There's a situation here. Please do hurry!"

_Beep_

"Kid, where in the freakin' world are ya!? Colonel's lookin' for you, you idiot!"

_Beep._

"Kiddo, this is Krodd again. What the hell's- " a shuffle, a scream, and-"HEY, HEY, HEY midget! This is Ollie! Know what? you're in **deep shiiiiiiiiiiit. **Hahahahahah!"

Ohh My God.

_Beep_

I forced myself to read the number (no matter how horrifying it was) on my phone. The discomfort in my stomach made an instant nosedive. Again.

"Jaraaan! Colonel wants to talk to—" slap, then a buzz "I expected so much from you, young lady. Come back here this instant!"

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Delete. Beep. Delete. Beep._

I groaned. Someone from above must not be happy with me. And right now, they're having a festival.

"299th floor, here we are." She turned to me expectantly. How did SHE know I was going there?!

The door slid open and I reluctantly stepped outside. Before the door closed, I can hear a tiny 'good luck.' Yeah, I think I'll need that lots. Especially when it was you who brought me he-

"NOOOOO! I TOLD YOU WE DIDN'T STEAL IT! ARE YOU DEAAAF!? I WANT MY DAAAADDY! DADDDY!"

What the fu—

"Calm down, Miss Nostrade! We just need some clarifications. You have to understand tha-"

"I HATE YOU! NEON ABSOLUTELY HATES YOUUUUU! I WANT TO GO HOOOOOME!"

I ran at full speed to the source of the blasted commotion as I passed through the hallways. I realized it was located at the end-the control room. The banging and clashing of furniture continued... What is going on?

"Miss Neon, please do calm down. Kurapika, please do something?" the soft voice sounded desperate as I leaped.

"I'm trying my best. Miss-"

"NOOOOOO! YOU ARE ALL CRAZY PEOPLE!"

I turned the knob and quickly opened the door. "What kind of party did yo-"

_**BOOOOOOGSH**__._

…

A whizz of blue, and everything turned black.

* * *

'_Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious..' when I opened my eyes, I saw 5..no 10.. no.. 20 weird pink and yellow cups dancing around me.. singing a ridiculously fast song.. _

"..iddo?.. helloo?"

'_Eventhoughthesoundofit issomethingquiteatrosicous.' I feel like I was whirling around in a field of polka dots and... crabs?... wait, why are these empty cups chasing me?_

"…olonel, she's waking u..."

'_Ifyousayitloudenoughyou'llalwayssoundprecocious'_ _There's a light... And it's coming towards me…_

"..aran? Jaran!"

I pried one eye open. There's a blaring light. And pain on my head (why is it always my HEAD?). And I am lying down. And there's a bunny talking to me. Am I in Wonderland?

"Whe… where's Alice..?" I murmured. The bunny suddenly shuffled in front of me but all I can see was its silhouette because the light behind it was too bright. There were other voices, and more bunny shadows covered my eyesight. All of them sounded so familiar…

"Alice? Who's Alice?"

"I-is she alright? I'm so sorry!"

"Miss, I please do _not _throw a fit next time. I beg of you."

"She's the girl from the café, sir. If you are going to ask her, then I can prove of my innocence as well as for my other companions."

As soon as my eyesight went clear, I immediately shot right up. The big bright room was teal-colored with different buttons, voltmeters and electroscopes on the wall. Multicolored wires hang by the ceiling and also adorned the corners, and blinking right in front of me was an _enormous_ screen which was subdivided equally into 40 parts-each showing the view of the different surveillance cameras of the building.

Control Room. Dear Omnipotent deities, if I had done something to make you mad, please forgive me.

The whole team of The Pazitors was suddenly here, and they all looked so somber (which was quite unusual, thank you very much. They're romping hooligans in normal circumstances): Romeo was staring at the screen with that permanent frown etched on his face, Ollie was leaning on the galvanometer near the corner; Lara was sitting by my side, her soft hands massaging the back of my head, and Krod was sitting on its soft, cushiony arms above me. All of them, except for Romeo, were looking at the opposite side of the room (there was so much noise there) but the backrest of the blue couch was completely blocking my view. Then I saw an approaching shadow. A bald, regal-looking man stood in front of me. His clean white suit and blue tie screamed _V.I.P._ right at my face.

"Jaran Almanov." I cringed. The guy said my name as if I committed a very serious crime.

"Colonel." I nearly said his name in a gasp. Colonel Bradwin is currently the captain commander of the team and the overall leader of the military units of the city. He was not wearing the Fatigue (soldier's uniform) as he usually did, so I figured that he was monitoring the crowd by fitting in.

Be smooth, Jaran. "My sincerest apologies for not staying in my post during the most critical time."

He nodded. "I understand. I heard you had an upset stomach, yes?"

"Yes sir.." I blinked, confusion flooded my senses. I didn't tell anyone about my trip to the café.

"With all due respect, where did you get the information, sir?" I continued, feeling amazed at the fact that no one dared to interrupt us talking. Even the noise on the other side of the room dissipated, as if everyone was waiting for my response.

"Hmmm.." he mused. "Perhaps someone told me. Casting those useless things aside, I need your confirmation regarding a very serious matter."

My confirmation? Wow, I feel so important. "What is it about?"

He pointed his thumb at his back.

Being the tiny and curious person that I was, I craned my neck so hard it hurts. The whole crowd closed in, and the familiar faces hit me like a bomb.

A muscular, brown-haired man with a thin vest (or blazer) barely covering his upper body, form-fitting tattered pants and boots, and his face adorned with a brown mustache; two pretty women wearing grape-colored kimonos; a girl around my age with electric blue hair, pink and purple stripes on her long-sleeved blouse, long white skirt and rubber shoes; and the tiny woman who smiled at me hours before—

Nostrade's bodyguards and maids! And Neon Nostrade herself! And then there's…

Tall blond, brown eyes, white long sleeves underneath a blue tabard, its design matching the skirt; extremely pretty—

The _Hermaphrodite! _(or gay! Or whatever its gender was!) Staring right at me!

"Tell me, did you form any acquaintance among these individuals earlier today?"

…

Eh?

...

"Sir, can you just please save the questions for later? I think Jaran's still not conditioned enough to answer your questions. She's turning absolutely pale." The beautiful lavender-haired woman stood beside me, her jade eyes flooded with concern.

I suddenly felt so lucky that Lara, the only girl in the group aside from myself, actually came here. Aside from being the big sister of the group (and being our personal cook!), her nen was what we call _soothe-_meaning the external and internal pain experienced by an organism will be gone in an instant once she touched them. So needless to say, my head felt a lot better than earlier.

But my tummy was still upset, I guess.

"Lara, if you haven't noticed, she's naturally as white as a ghost." Carrot-head Ollie muttered from the side.

The colonel scrutinized me, and looked away. "Very well then. Lara, try to give her something to eat. She looks like she's going to devour every single being here." He walked away and talked to the visitors with hushed voices. Lara gave me a chaste kiss on the forehead and went inside the connecting room beside the screen, dragging Ollie with her.

Ahhh, so you noticed, old man? You so sharp, ehh?

Then I felt someone staring at me.

The blond guy remained from his position, and intimidating brown eyes burned into mine. He had the perfect posture: straight back with relaxed shoulders and even breathing. His blond tresses reached his neck and lightly touched his chin, and a long silver earring with a glistening silver diamond-shape thingy at the end hung in his left ear. He _did _stand and walked around like a guy, I mused, and muscles were well-defined in his build. Not really a bodybuilder muscle, because he was thin and toned at the same time. But my main concern was that his face was unnaturally feminine. Soft angles everywhere, and his eyes tilted very slightly upward, like a cat. And the calm and composed way he brought himself.. I immediately want to slap the living daylights out of him for his flawless physique.

But it's also too much for a gender-confusing Mr. Perfect. I might do it some other time.

But still, I don't like him at all. I have a phobia for perfect things.

We continued glowering at each other (with me doing the ultrapissed glare) until he turned away to join the talking group. I was planning to call out to him and ask what the heck's his problem was when I felt a soft nudge at my side. I turned and a silver-haired man ruffled my sticky and disheveled hair.

"Hey, kiddo." he smiled and pinched my left cheek. "You look as green as your hair."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the compliment, Krodd. You said I'm paler than a ghost, then now I look like a seaweed?"

He chuckled, and Lara appeared with a plate full of cookies. "Nobody said that you're a seaweed, idiot. And Ollie was the one saying you're pale, not me. By the way, you passed out for about 2 hours in case you're wondering. We cleaned the room by then."

I noticed that they were trying to act like their usual selves, but the air felt so heavy and tense.

"Oh." I stuffed 3 cookies simultaneously and Lara sat beside me. Now I'm in between her and Krodd. "Mhmm. Wow, thif if goog! By ve way, what'pf all thif ruckuf all abouf?"

I felt the strong urge to lighten up the mood. If I sensed trouble earlier, then it multiplied by a tenfold today.

Lara giggled "You sure look hungry." She paused, studying my greedy form. Can't help it, I love choco-chip cookies.

She was about to say something else when Krodd piped in "You're abnormally playful today, kiddo! You're usually the serious one next to Romeo, y'know."

Another 4 cookies disappeared from the plate. "No I'm Not."

The lavenderhead crinkled her nose. "I really hate it when you interrupt just like that, Krodd."

5 cookies.

He rolled his eyes. "Heard that two times in a row today." I cleared my throat. They still haven't answered my question for god's sake! Both turned their heads at me at the same time and said (at the same time still) "Ask the Colonel."

I stood up and walked towards them, leaving the two alone in the couch. The talking group suddenly kept quiet and turned to face me. The electric blue-haired girl stepped forward and reached for my hand. She apologized profusely, saying that she was the one who accidentally threw a toy at me (_ah?) _was the one who almost destroyed the room _(really? How come everything's spic-and-span?). _The colonel then placed a big hand on her shoulder and she stepped backward. So now, we're face-to-face.

"You see, Almanov. We have a very serious problem." Yeah Colonel, I had seen that ever since I stepped into the lobby. "You know what the Celestial Fortele is, correct?"

All the impractical thoughts in my head vanished as soon as the words went out of his mouth. I scowled, disbelief and slight anger welling inside me. Did the colonel forget about the rule of secrecy with regards to the Fortele? Clearly, he was not supposed to bring up something so important in front of the people-most especially strangers! I bit back the idea of reminding him and decided to play it cool.

"Of course, sir. We Pazitors were obliged to protect that with all cost."

His eyes were sharp and cold as he spoke.

"It was stolen."

The world suddenly stopped.

_W-what?_

"And I think our guests here had something to do with it."


	3. Flashbacks

**Au/N: **Hey-llo, I'm back! xD this chapter is a bit long and this might bore you out of your skull, but please be aware that this is by far one of the most important chapter BE-COZZ the plot mainly swirls around _here. :) _

**_SO before anything else, please read this before continuing with the story: _****_bold and italicized words _**meant **_flashbacks _**while ordinary texts meant things that are happening presently.

crystal clear? hope so :) please review and do say if you're a bit confused, because i would gladly explain everything xD and for improvements, feel free to throw tomatoes!  
Sankeyuuu! :')

-Kunoichi79

**PS: **i'm sorrrrry for the weird grammar. i know some of them are wrong but-i got a bad case of flu and my mind's in a frenzy. *sniff* TT^TT

* * *

Warmth washed over me when I opened my eyes.

The gauzy curtains brushed my face as the soft breeze entered my open window. The room was supposed to be a splash of blues and greens, because they were the colors that relaxed me the most. Instead, it was painted with the warm orange of the setting sun, and the corners were filled with shadows. I slowly sat up, and realized that I slept all throughout the day in a peculiar position; with my body perpendicular to the bed and my arms spreading out like an eagle. My thoughts were now focused enough to think clearly—but it also made me remember all the silliness I made and thought about for the past week. I wonder what kind of creature possessed me that somehow turned me into a bubbly and asinine idiot.

I slid off the bed and tested the balance on my legs to make sure they were functioning right. The familiar feeling of wood beneath my feet felt so homely. Now I understood why I can't sleep on any hotel...

I looked around to check if something was in disarray. The simplicity of the tiny space made me smile: a clean white desk at the side of my bed with a study lamp, the two big bookshelves full of books, files, reports, cases and written projects, and the closet beside it. A lone painting of a kaleidoscope adorned the wall opposite to the bed, but that's just about it. I sometimes wished that my life was as simple as my room. But then, I guess not.

I stood up and watched by the window as the flaming ball of hot plasma and hydrogen slowly buried itself on the sea. I'm no poet, and I have the least patience for those kinds of things… but this scene was breathtaking, and I had spent my eighteen years of living to prove anyone that sunsets indeed contain a beauty too much to behold.

As I watched the light seeping on my walls, memories of yesterday, or rather 2 am this morning replayed inside my mind scene by scene..

"_**You're joking, right?" I wanted to laugh because the idea itself seemed so downright funny and impossible, but I felt my insides twist because of the possibility that it was actually true. The colonel's nostrils flared, and if this happened another time, I would have giggling fits and tears in my eyes. But he was serious, and I knew then that my city's life would be at stake—as well as our job as protectors. My voice was grim when I asked how was that possible when the guards covering the area were highly proficient, and what the Nostrades got to do with this. The colonel screamed-he said that we were incompetent, shameful, and we were the reason of the city's downfall. He said that I had no right to question him because it was supposed to be our job to protect it and we failed. We must be expelled from our job, and be banished until we regain the Fortele from the 'filthy rich' Nostrades' grasp.**_

I removed my dirty garments and folded them neatly to be thrown inside the laundry basket. I sometimes wonder why I insist on arranging them when they're only to be dumped inside the washing machine anyway. I proceeded to the bathroom and turned the knob. The cold water hit me like ice drops and gave me goosebumps. I closed my eyes and slowly rubbed my skin… I imagined the heat and painful muscles coming out of the pores as steam magically surfaced around me..

_**The said group lurched forward and each of them insisted that they have no idea what it was, and they could not have possibly gotten something that they have no knowledge of. The Colonel flared up and said that the evidence against them was strong.**_

I watched the water travel down my body. Then I remembered a dream wherein I was wounded by a broken glass. I shook the disturbing thought away.

_**I was wondering why my comrades had gone so quiet, and I looked back to see Lara and Krodd looking at me intently. 'Why did this happen, guys? Why? Weren't you here earlier? Please give me a clue.' I wanted to say, but the words didn't come out of my throat. I can't say it, because I was also a part of the blame. And worse, I even left my post to lounge lazily in the café and make fun of a guy who was fatefully in the same room as I am. I'm starting to think that this is karma.**_

I got the shampoo and applied a generous amount on my hair. I never liked my unruly locks because they reminded me of limp seaweeds that sprouted in my head and reached my waist. Lara and Mrs. Michiko think that it would look nice if I took care of it well. I still think they're nuts as of the moment. But it's not like I care anymore, anyway.

_**The colonel pushed his way towards the screen as Neon Nostrade became hysterical. I asked the kimono-clad women to calm her down, but she was inconsolable and tried calling her father, repeating disgusting insults over and over again. The muscular bodyguard introduced himself as Basho. He asked me to listen to their side, and I told him that I will. The colonel commanded Romeo to replay the events caught in the surveillance camera. He obliged silently.**_

I rinsed and got rid of the soap suds on my hair and body. I stayed in the water for a couple of minutes, and I cursed myself again for acting so weird for the past weeks. The lack of sleep, imbalanced meal, and extreme nausea and vomiting obviously affected my entire character. Damn, wish I can somehow take all my embarrassing actions back.

_**As Romeo operated the screen, Ollie came out from the connecting room and said that he had called every single employee in the building and that they will arrive any minute soon to act as witnesses. His usual cheerful self was gone, and I really hated watching him that way. He approached us and said that he had seen the video earlier, and the times of arrival and dismissal displayed on the videos were contradictory and very confusing. He also stated that there was something off in the scenes wherein the Nostrades were 'said to be caught in the act of fighting the guards' when he used gyo, but the colonel would never listen. Kurapika insisted they must also see the video so that they can defend themselves of the accusation. Despite the colonel's defiance, Ollie and I agreed.**_

The towel rack contained two towels: one for drying up and another for wrapping my body. I'm not comfortable with parading around naked because I don't want perverts to have a free show. I changed into a white shirt and cargo black shorts that reached below my knee.

_**We watched as the little televisions displayed the different parts of the building. At 9:30 PM, Light Nostrade and the rest of the group were seen entering the lobby of Liniste Pacific Hotel. It was in a bird's eye view, so they were seen walking up the staircase to the Grand Hotel. I gulped, because this was also the time right after my little fiasco occurred. Kurapika was not with the group during this time and the video caught Senritsu smiling at something (or someone). I stole a glance at the kind lady, trying to make sure if it was really me she was smiling at (maybe I was just getting paranoid or something). She suddenly met my gaze and gave me a secret wink. I instantly looked away with my cheeks burning in embarrassment. At 10:30, Light was seen leaving the hotel with the limo. Neon and the rest were seen in the entrance with Neon waving her father goodbye. Then they went back to the hotel and went inside their room. At 10:52 until 11:25, the whole crew, with Kurapika already present, was seen again on the forbidden floor-the 300**__**th **__**-and Basho waved at the camera arrogantly while the others were busy fighting the guards, then the camera shut off.**_

I went out of my room and passed by a small wooden hallway to the living room. The walls of this cozy area were colored blue, and jalousied windows allowed natural light to pass through.

_**Collective gasps were heard from the ladies, and Senritsu pleaded that they were only resting inside the suite when those things happened. Basho screamed at Ollie and grabbed his collar saying that he was not the one on the video while pointing furiously at the screen. The colonel faced us, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes that meant his mind was set. Kurapika marched forward and calmly declared that he could not be the one in the video for he was at the café while side-glancing at me. He also affirmed that I was there, though I barely said a word and I looked pretty ill, he said. 'You were the reason my stomach became ill' I almost spat. But I bit my tongue to avoid even more trouble. The colonel told (more like threatened) me, asking if it was true or not. I told him yes, and even gave the exact time of his arrival, which was around 11:04 PM. The colonel grunted angrily, and spun around. Kurapika raised a brow accusingly. I remembered seething at him silently while he was glaring at me. 'Hey blondie, don't give me that look. At least I saved your butt!' I sneered inside my mind**_

A swinging door from the living room leads to the kitchen/dining area. I reached above the refrigerator to get a chopstick to hold my semi-dry hair so that there would be no distractions lest I'm cooking. Sleeping from 2 am until 6:30 pm made me really, really, hungry...

_**Krodd got up from the couch and gave me one last look before he went out the door. The employees must have arrived, because numerous nervous chatters from outside can be heard. The colonel gripped the backrest of the couch while he declared hotly that all of them are guilty and there's no need for 'stupid excuses.' Romeo disagreed without even looking at the colonel, saying that there were still videos that we failed to see. We waited as he pressed numerous buttons on the control panel while the colonel muttered, "What Now?!"**_

I got some eggs, tomatoes, onions, milk, olives, and butter from the fridge and laid them on the table. I know that an omelette is not really a dinner thing, but it was one of the quickest and easiest recipes I can think of. I got a bowl and started beating and adding salt into the eggs.

_**In this video, Kurapika was seen entering the lobby at 11:15 pm with a closed cup of coffee in his hand (I knew it was cappuccino, but I found it useless to blurt it out). His brows were knitted together, and he had this look on his face. He proceeded to enter the elevator.**_

_**Meanwhile, another video showed the 62**__**nd**__** floor. Neon and her group went out from their room at 11:00 pm and she was very giddy over something. Basho looked like he wanted to bolt right out in the wall and Senritsu looked perplexed as they passed the peach colored halls of the hotel. The two maids followed them with a constant shake in their heads. Then they were seen walking out from the elevator on the 10**__**th**__** floor which was the hotel's mini mall. While all of this was shown, Neon frantically screeched that this was the 'real' one and the 'other' was fake. All of them agreed.**_

I got the tomatoes and the onions and sliced them into little cubes. Then I mixed them with the eggs along with the milk.

_**Krodd went back inside and announced that he had talked to everyone, and that the Nostrades' side of witness was strong because most of the employees saw the group hovering by the rack of clothing and cosmetics and was also seen eating at the restaurant. He slowly walked up to the colonel, who looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown or something. The sweat dripped down his chin while he fixed his gaze upon Krodd, saying that the situation was getting worse. While he managed to let the colonel sit down, Ollie said that the people who were seen at the forbidden floor were controlled beings. At this, the colonel shot up, and in a blink of an eye, Ollie was down on the floor.**_

The melted butter smelled heavenly as I preheated the pan. The pan sizzled nicely as I slowly poured the mixed ingredients.

_**The colonel's face was pitiful as he screamed incoherent words. Everyone was thunderstruck. Especially me. I had never seen the Colonel like this. Ollie stood up and also screamed something I couldn't remember. The aura of the colonel spiked up and so as with his. At that moment, I knew that they would do something horrible. Before I can even think of any solution, I leaped in between them. Words came rushing out my mouth before I could even close it but I couldn't remember anything I said. Ollie gripped my arm and told me to 'fuck off', but I didn't listen. Lara bolted towards the guests who were huddled in a corner near the door. I heard her escorting them out quickly. I also heard Romeo telling us to calm down.**_

As soon as a semisolid mass begins to form, I lifted the pan and moved it around until the excess poured off. I shaped it into a circle with the spatula.

_**The colonel moved closer to my face, and I backed away because of the close proximity. He told me things that I hated the most. I felt my blood begin to boil but I didn't say anything, thinking that the colonel's sanity was losing hence he was acting that way. Romeo gripped his shoulders harder and told him to rest his nerves. The colonel roughly pushed Romeo away, though it never made any difference because he wasn't even able to move him. **_

When it was finally cooked, I laid it on the plate and took some leftover rice from the microwave. Then I sat down the table and started munching.

_**I was still able to hold myself back there, but then he mentioned something about my father... then I knew that I was starting to lose it as well. Every single pore in my body began to burst in flames, and I can feel my heart clawing against my chest like a trapped tiger in a tin box. I silently stood there while Romeo wrapped his arms around the colonel. His screams could be heard in the entire building, and probably the houses and buildings near it.**_

I gripped my utensils tighter. Even now, I can still feel the rage burning my skin and poisoning my insides.

"_**Your father never loved you! You're just nothing but a useless, weak and selfish brat who thinks that she can do things older people can! Heh, that's the fucking reason why he would rather die for those people with red eyes than live for a little shit like YOU!'"**_

_**It was then I lost every single sense in me.**_

_Red eyes… Scarlet Eyes… "Kuruta Clan."_

I dropped my spoon and fork.

The hateful taste made me lost my appetite.

* * *

The wind was cold and the skies were already filled with starless darkness when I went out of my house. It has always been big enough for me, but my heart felt so tight and heavy. I felt like if I stayed there any longer, the space would consume me whole.

I walked silently into the pavement, and I felt the ocean breeze caressing me gently like a mother to her child. My home is located near the sea. If I turn left and walk continuously, I would reach the port in 5 minutes. I turned right.

I made a few turns and passed by the convenient stores and houses. The crowd walking the pedestrian lane doubled as the rush hour ticked. I slid inside a dark alley, and half jogged as I went out and reached a patch of grass that leads to the river. When I was young, I used to play hide-and-seek with my friends. My usual place was a dry spot covered with moss under the bridge. When there was a high tide, that spot would be filled with water and I would resort to climbing trees. The one that I preferred the most was the cherry tree beside the bridge. Its fragrance always made me warm and fuzzy inside. I walked over the bridge and watched its leaves flutter down with the moonlight casting a lovely glow on the water. I felt my heart slowly calm down, the heat of fury melting away.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone stir beneath the tree. I snapped my head and squinted my eyes to get a better view. But the tree's silhouette covered the mysterious entity. My heart thudded in my chest once again-but this time, the rage was replaced by the thrills of uncertainty. I gripped the wooden railings of the bridge as I leaned closer, my fingernails digging into its skin.

"Who's there?"

He stepped into the light. I gasped.

"You were a bit hard to find." He started, his calm voice soft and low… but audible.

"_..Kurapika?"_

* * *

** ho-ho-ho. i hope you enjoyed xD **stay tuned for the next chappie? heee.


	4. Offer

The blond guy took slow and deliberate steps to expose himself fully in the light. I blinked hard, surprise evident in my face as I pushed my bangs out of my face. With all the bad vibes gone in my system, all I felt was surprise. What in the world was this guy doing here? And did I hear him correctly? Did he say _I was hard to find? _I took a step backward from the railings, unsure of what I'm supposed to do. The floor of the creaky old bridge whined, as if insulting my weight. Ugh, stupid bridge. I'm not that heavy!

I cleared my throat. "Good evening, Kurapika-san. May I know why you're here?"

The lamppost at the opposite side of the bridge flickered as Kurapika raised a brow. Formality has always been a practice when I was young, even to the people that I don't like the most (bullies, jerks, drunkards, mean girls-you name it). My father was not a very formal man, and he often hurt people with his tackless words. I never liked his way of talking so I tried to learn and practice everything that they taught in school. It's a plus point for me especially when I'm talking to older people, but it's also the reason why kids treat me like a freak. They say that I come from the medieval area.

He didn't speak immediately. Instead, he watched the clouds move lazily across the moon. Distant traffic sounds filled the silence and the people around the vicinity are lessening. He's taking his time, like he's telling me that I can't get any information without a fair play. Alright then, bring it. I waited patiently.

"My boss was not very happy with the recent occurrences." He spoke with a cold voice, his luminescent black eyes shining mysteriously in the darkness. I tilted my head with my eyes widening in surprise. Was I losing my eyesight? I was pretty sure his eyes were once brown.

"You're surprised?" He looked up from where I was standing. "I believe you ought to expect this to happen." I closed my eyes and sighed. I have met men like him several times (depending if he really was a man), and luckily, their kind doesn't faze me at all. "Actually you're mistaken." I smiled gently at him. "I expected Light Nostrade to blow on us anytime. My reason of surprise was mainly because of your eyes. I thought they were brown. You are… wearing faux irises?" My childish dislike for his ridiculously feminine physical appearance made me grin. Dude, contact lenses? Now I'm not gonna be surprised if that shiny hair of yours will be a wig and you would bring a lipstick.

He narrowed the now black orbs and heatedly interjected. "I fail to find anything amusing with your observation."

I crossed my arms and nodded, but the grin in my face is pretty hard to erase. Uptight people are so fun to mess with. But really, I know when to draw the line. "I know. And I'm sorry for being disrespectful." My grin turned into a small smile as I sauntered back down, preparing to leave immediately.

I am quite sure that he did not come all the way here just to state the obvious. I'm not stupid, and I knew it from the time he showed up in that tree that this meeting is simply not a result of coincidence-that he is definitely up to something. He is not the kind of guy that would socialize among people he finds useless, and just by looking at him, I can sense hatred flowing out from him like a broken dam. He is definitely a dangerous person to deal with. I'm not just saying this because he has the potential to be physically strong, but he can surely bring other people down into his hellhole.

This guy definitely wants something from me, and by instinct, I know that it got something to do with the Fortele.

"I'm not sure what the function of that stolen material is. But judging from the mad flurry it caused, then it sized up its importance." His tone was serious and formal. But there's something else hidden in between the lines. He turned to face me as I stared back at him, my gaze unyielding.

I knew it.

"I suppose so." I didn't break eye contact. "Do you have anything else to say? Because I still have a lot of work to do."

He took small steps towards me as the breeze grew stronger, making his hair and tabard sway with the wind. The moon, who was once I considered at that moment a beauty, suddenly casted an eerie glow in the trees, bridge, and in just about everything—I was thrown into a sudden paradigm shift. But then, I still chose to be glued in my place.

"Are you familiar with bargaining, Almanov?" I pouted at him. It's offending when someone calls you without any honorifics and you're not even close, and for the most part, I was clearly offended. Who does he think he is anyway?! I pondered on his words and I realized that his tone was suggestive, almost curious. But he had a glint in his eyes that screamed _'danger zone.' _He stood three meters away from me, and that is by far _too far _for a decent conversation. But even with that distance, it's as if we are already intruding each other's personal space. Maybe its best if I should've just walked away, but for some reasons, I want to know what this guy's really up to.

I scrutinized him for a moment and gave him a sly smirk. "I don't think it's with you."

He replied haughtily. "I'm not suggesting it is." he looked away, as if he was thinking of something, then looked at me. "I want to propose something else."

"What if I say no?" I shot back without thinking twice. Now, it was his turn to smirk.

"You haven't even heard of it yet, and you're turning it down? Are you scared?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. What a jerk. I spun around and started walking. If this guy's going to destroy my mood, then I better be off. The night has turned deeper, and the cicadas were singing their nocturnal songs. There's no need for further explanation with what his reasons were. Maybe my premonition was a bit hazy and uncertain, but I can't risk anything. I've made up my mind to go home.

I heard light footstep following me.

"I have information and contacts with the elites that particular night." His voice was distant but clear and it filled the deserted meadow. Tempting as a chocolate and strawberry filled cake, this guy knows how to do his thing. I gritted my teeth and continued walking with the dried leaves cackling helplessly beneath my rubber shoes.

The footsteps never altered.

"I can also attain information of the different nen users anywhere. If I work on it, maybe I can find the manipulator who made replicas of us _and _find the thing you needed" I stopped before I entered the dark alley. If I'm going to be walking blindly for about 10 minutes, I must make _sure _that this creepy son of a friggin' bitch would stop tailing me. Who knew what in blazes name he can do? Not I. And I have no plans in finding out, for goddamned hell. I shifted my body slightly and turned my head to the side to face him. He was actually quite far, thank goodness, maybe about 7 meters away.

"Thank you for the concern." I gave a sick smile. "But trust me; we can get as much information as you can." I turned and ran into the pits of nothingness (oh, not really—I was exaggerating. It was just a dark alley). It was not until I reached the end when I heard his voice from far, far away…

"_We'll see about that, then."_

When I reached the pedestrian once again, the streets were now close to empty. Tower clock reads: 11:37 PM

I muttered angrily to myself. My dislike for him had absolutely skyrocketed up in outer space. What the hell does he want?! That stupid, rotten, weird, annoying, painfully gorgeous bastard!

As soon as my foot made a step, I felt my pocket vibrating.

"Hell-"

"_Kiddo. You feeling better?" _Oh, it's Krodd. No wonder my sentence was cut off.

"Yeah, I-"

"_Meet us at the Office. Colonel wants to make amends. And we got loads of problems to solve."_

"Hey, did you-"

_Beeeeep. Beeeep._

_..._

* * *

I never really thought I'd encounter a very awkward predicament as soon as I stepped into the office.

Let us all replay ever single unfortunate event I had for the last 72 hours—I let loose missile bile in the café toilet because I saw a hermaphrodite; I passed out because a spoiled munchkin threw a humongous battery-operated bunny stuffed toy in my head; (this is by far the worst one) the Fortele was stolen; the reason I bailed out all the contents of my stomach was with me in the room; I committed the worst crime of pointing my gun at the highest ranking officer because I was pissed off; aaaaand the same guy in number 1 and 4 was stalking me (dafuq?). You can say that I was having the worst two days of my entire life.

_I'm really, absolutely, sorry for what happened earlier, Almanov. I hope you accept my token of apology._

I'm now standing at the entrance of the main office with the door wide open. Usually, when you say the word 'office' you would always be reminded of tidy air-conditioned rooms, tables with little knickknacks, a laptop or a computer with ultra-fast wireless connection, a telephone at the side, and maybe vain pictures of yourself in the plywood wall. Maybe you have a bulletin that contains your itinerary for the day and a bag of chips hidden under your table and secured with a scotch tape so that it will not fall once you secretly wanna have a snack. That's real neat, I guess. Now, use your imaginative mind to picture the place we called 'office': Mountains of paper, folders, opened and unopened envelopes and books lie on the sofa, tables, floors, above bookshelves, dresser with weird Halloween costumes (I have no idea where that came from),in chairs, in a shoebox, and in just about everywhere. When all the papers are absent, it's more of a library. When the bookshelves are absent, it's more of a storage room. It is indeed air-conditioned, and we do have two of them. The problem is, the room is turned into a freezer—and even the files experience frostbite. There are two telephones on the wall and there are two computers with good connection. Heaps of food are in the closet, and of course we don't have a problem in spoilage because it will disappear in about 5 minutes once it's placed inside. Now, are you following?

That's the normal scene in our office. Now, all of that are still present BUT there's a _slight _(says the colonel in his note) change in the office for my 'token of apology.'

Ribbons and balloons were sticking out of the mountains of white. Candies and pieces of colored paper scattered all over the floor and banderitas were hanging limply on the ceiling. A piñata—a _freaking multicolored pig-shaped PINATA! _Was also hanging on the little chandelier (isn't that dangerous!?). Ollie, the lone person standing on the room, raised his open hands in front of his face as I tore the little pink note in my hands.

Remember my very awkward predicament?

"W-w-w-what the h-hell's the meaning of THISSS?! Ooooolliieeee!" I screamed while pointing everywhere. I sweaaar… I'm going to kill-

"Hey.. hey chill out dude." He moved towards me, while busy avoiding the gargantuan piles on the floor.

"Chill out?! Y-you want _meeee _to chill OUT!? What am I, a 5 year old?!" I seethed through my gritted teeth. Why, god why?

"Look, the Colonel asked the janitors to make a little something for you. I think they took the wrong idea and… gave a little touch to it, um... now, can you help me clean this mess?" he ruffled his spiky orange head and gave a frustrated sigh. Somehow I knew that he's not as pleased as I was.

I shook my head. I _can't _believe this.

I got a broom and a dustpan from outside and hand him another pair to start cleaning. I bombarded him with questions about Krodd, Lara, and that crazy colonel, and the events that happened after I walked out and he told me that the guy really was sorry. He even told him that Nostrade called and was ready to behead him. We should be expecting the guy by tomorrow. Lara, Krodd, and Romeo on the other hand, were checking out the hotel and were looking for other clues we might have missed and will probably be gone until god-knows-when.

Luckily, or unluckily—you choose our predicament, Ollie and I were the chosen ones to stay inside and do the analytical investigation. With his quick detective mind and my knowledge in the medical field, we are the ones that uses nen the least. Aside from that, he's the second youngest and my closest buddy so he's quite understanding when I'm about to throw my shoe once the older guys treat me like someone undeserving. We stayed inside the office the whole night and were busy making phone calls, scanning the list of patricians that joined the exhibit, reading the witnesses' reports, and tried to make theories and whatnot. I sat on the floor and leaned on the wall (miraculously, there's a space) while he sat on the office chair. Even though I tried to keep busy and he cracked numerous jokes, my mind would still jump back to Kurapika. I don't have the foggiest idea what he wants, let alone why of all people he chose to bug me. Does he want the Fortele for himself? Is this all just a trap? Or does he want something else in return? Does he want something from _me—_or am I just being paranoid? I couldn't decide which is which. I'm feeling so frustrated I almost threw my coffee right into my poor friend's face and tore the report I'm holding! I got the guy so worried that he checked my forehead from time to time and almost poked a thermometer in my mouth.

Apparently, there were about 4,367 guests that joined the exhibit including their bodyguards and a total of 299,675 people that checked in. The problem is that there's no description of their abilities and motives because of privacy purposes. We exchanged numerous theories and discussed the clues but with a crowd that large, one whole night is not enough. Before we even knew it, the sun has risen up.

While I was reading a biodata of one guest in the internet, I suddenly want to take a pee. I stood up and head for the door.

"You're not thinking of abandoning me, right?" Ollie muttered tiredly without even looking up from the folder that he was reading.

I scoffed. "Now, why would I do that to my best friend?" He rolled his eyes. I turned the knob and was about to step out when my forehead knocked on a hard something that is covered by a cloth. I looked up and nearly choked on my saliva.

Oh, great.

Behold, Light Nostrade was in the doorway.

"U-uuhhh…. Sir?" I slowly backed away as if he had a strange disease. He was _not_ happy.

He swiftly entered the room and scanned the area. I knew that from a neat old man's point of view, our room was definitely an eyesore. He walked up to the main table and ignored the heaps of paper which he stepped on. Kurapika was his only companion, and like a trained dog, he followed his master's footsteps and thankfully made an effort to avoid the piled reports that we tried so hard to arrange. I acted as if we didn't know each other, and good that he did the same. There's no way that I'm going acknowledge this guy after all he did last night.

Oh yeah. Last night. I almost forgot about it.

Ollie stood up and offered his hand. Nostrade only stared at it as if it protruded an eye with fangs and continued with a disgusted look on his face.

"I'm not here to be social with you, and I have absolutely no plan to do it in the future. Now, you cannot be the boss because you look too young. Where is he?"

I can tell even with my eyes closed that Ollie's piss meter was firing up. Old farts like this were totally _not_ his favorites. I bit back a smile as I leaned on the wall beside the door and watched them doing a head-on glare contest. Yeah, sure this is really gonna be something if this keeps up. Kurapika only crossed his arms and stared at the two with his lips in a straight, thin line.

"With all due respect, _Sir." _There was poison in that S word. "We're all bosses here. This is _our _office."

I snickered silently.

"Oh, really?" The older man's lips twitched as he looked around. "No wonder. "

Ollie's jaw clenched tightly. Oh man, the feeling's mutual, baby!

"I'll get straight to the point. There was a report saying that you accused my poor daughter and my bodyguards of stealing a particular object on the exhibit, correct?"

Ollie shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Tell me, boy, do you have the evidence to prove your stupid theory? My daughter would never steal anything from anyone because I will buy it for her! And my guards receive a huge amount and they are very well nourished and pleasured by the maids in the mansion! Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I giggled uncontrollably with the 'well nourished and pleasured' part. _Dear Heavens may help us._

I sauntered out of the room before I bursted out laughing. Oh god, _what does he mean by that?!_ Images of a table full of fruits and veggies eaten by skimpy girls with bikinis and purple kimonos flashed before my mind. I covered my mouth with my hand and wiped the tears that formed in the corners of my eyes. They must have thought of me as a retard for barging out the door like that but—whaaaaat can I say? The old guy gave me weird thoughts!

_Okay, calm your wild imagination down, Jaran._ I scratched my head as I walked away from the door. I leaned on to the blue wall and I watched the trees sway from the window to somehow (hopefully!) clear those... things off my head. Now that I thought about it, Light somehow reminds me of his own daughter—spoiled, selfish, and basically amusing. I don't know how their bodyguards endure their emotional drama but I'm impressed. Now I see why Kurapika has to be intimidating and serious…

"I never really thought you'd be a pervert."

"Bah-!" I jumped involuntarily at the voice and whipped my head to the voice. _Oohh shyyyyyyt-_I felt my cheeks ready to melt ice cream. "I-I-m nott…!" I stammered. Ugh, I'm really starting to hate this guy..!

The mild amusement in his eyes made me want to punch him as he leaned on the wall near the door. One of his legs crossed the other, and the foot of that leg was tapping the floor gently. His other foot was planted flat on the floor. His arms were crossed, and there was a faint _irritating_ smirk tugging on his lips. I clenched my fist tightly and I pouted with my cheeks still on fire. "Why are you always following me?!" I seethed as I pointed a finger accusingly at him.

He nodded slowly, his face suddenly thoughtful. "You didn't even deny it. You really are a pervert"

I blanched. What?! "No I'm not! And what are you doing here, anyway?! Aren't you supposed to be helping your master or something?!" Lesson: Thou shalt forget formalities when being faced by a poker-faced assuming blond bitch. I crossed my arms furiously in front of my chest as I pointed my foot at the door.

He pushed himself off the wall and suddenly turned serious as he walked closer, his hands plugged inside his skirt pocket. Why is he always wearing a skirt, anyway? There are pants underneath it, why not just show the pants or something?

"I hope you didn't forget about my deal. You didn't tell anyone about it? " In an instant of a nanosecond, he suddenly turned from a jerk into serious mode. He stood in front of me with the same glint in his eyes last night.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not the kind of person who would advertise my personal business." I hissed. "And besides, we don't need your assistance."

"You're not the talkative one. Good." He mused. "You will need my help sooner or later." His voice was low and thick, and I felt my personal barrier creeping up. I glared up at him.

"I hope you didn't forget about my negative response." I shot back with the same tone he used. Then, Nostrade went out of the office and swiftly walked pass us. He didn't even look at Kurapika, or see what's he's doing when he said "Our business with this filth is done, Kurapika. Let's go. The plane will be waiting for us."

We held each other's glare for a moment, and then Kurapika followed. As he went pass me, his arm brushed my jacket. I flinched automatically, feeling goose bumps all over my skin. I hurriedly went back inside while trying to shake it off. Sheesh, I'd hate to get bad germs from the person I like the least.

When I entered, I saw Ollie standing by the window looking as smug as he can be. I let out a big breath and whistled. "Way to go, partner!"

He grinned and clicked his tongue. "Too bad we hate each other's guts."

I closed one eye and crinkled my nose as I went back to my original place. "So, they're not coming back then?"

He shrugged as he took a junk food out of the closet and tossed another at my direction. "Hope not."

The potato chips landed straight into my hand as he went back to the chair, grumbling noisily about Saturday work and stupid old men. We didn't dare touch the subject of the Fortele even though it's the one we're mainly working at, because it is too painful and depressing to remember that it was stolen. I decided to make markings on the reports so that I can find anything useful easier, so I fumbled for my pocket. I knew I placed my ball pen there. Well my ball pen was indeed there—but there's also something else. I took it out.

A paper?

I didn't remember putting a paper in my jacket. I scanned it, and felt even more confused when there are only numbers written… then it clicked.

_Cellphone number._


	5. Decisions, decisions

**Au/N: Yoshaa! :3 Finalleeee the next chapter. And honestly? I felt really excited making this because.. yeah just read and find out. By The way, please take note of the * because there will be notes below. Sankeyuuu!**

* * *

'_I was standing at the middle of the road._

_It's as if everything was muted, for I can't hear the usual liveliness of the midnight metropolis. I can still see everything as they passed me by, and the people walking leisurely around the vicinity made movements in their mouths. Cars travelled at full speed in front of me, and judging from the sudden gush of wind that whipped my hair on all directions, I knew that it was quite the same behind me. Just one lousy step would be the reason of my demise, so I didn't move my leg but I did looked back. A two-storey hut made of hardwood welcomed my view, and spade-shaped windows adorned the front. The little bells that hung by the door moved gracefully as the black door swung open. A pert little face peeked through the tiny opening, and her pigtails swayed as she went back inside and closed the door. I turned my whole body towards it, so I was facing the dimly lighted signboard which read 'Liniste Café' in Old English Text. I took a step forward._

_Suddenly, everything broke into shards of glass, and I was engulfed in semidarkness. I realized that I was fully naked, and the sharp pieces pierced my pale body like a thousand knives. But I didn't feel any pain even when the blood was a rivulet down my thighs and arms. Then, every single piece stopped in midair as if time itself has paused, and I watched as it bounced back to its original position. Once again, I was taken to another place. It was an elevator with mirrors on all sides-even the floor. Dim yellow light flickered above my head, and I gazed into my naked form once again... with all the wounds absent. The door slid open and a long peach colored hallway stretched as far as my eyes can see. I ran, fast and hard, and the identical white doors with numbers that ranged from 200 above went pass me like a blur. It felt like forever until I reached the end, and I saw restless people outside the blue door that said 'Control Room' but their faces were distorted so I didn't recognize anything except for a familiar bright flash of scarlet red. With my heart pummeling in my chest like a woodpecker, I opened the door and saw the colonel down on the dark grey tiles, his faces contorted and his clothes in disarray. His eyes were as huge as saucers, and I looked up to where he was pointing. A violently enraged girl with her hair hidden in a dark bullcap pointed a .38 caliber gun at him and her bright violet eyes were blazing infernos as two men tried to calm her down. Suddenly, all heads snapped at my direction, and I was absolutely surprised because I thought I was invisible. Then I realize that they were not looking at me but the thing was holding._

_A delicately intertwined crystal shaped into a man and a woman in a bizarre sensual dance that glittered so beautifully rested in my left hand. In the space between them, a large diamond emitted a multicolored glow. It was so bright that I had to shield my eyes. But the moment my other hand touched my face, the crystal suddenly evaporated…_

… _And an ear-piercing scream filled my ears._

I jolted up from my bed covered in sweat and trembling like mad.

I was still shaking when I sat up, and my heart was still beating like crazy. It was still dark and chilly outside, and I coughed several times before groping blindly for the glass of water that I left on my bedside table. My dream—which was a little in between a nightmare and a dream, actually—has worsened for the past week. It always started in the café, and it always ended with the Fortele vanishing in my hand. The only difference right now was that weird scream and my naked body wounded.

Cold winds came ravishing through my big window, and a soft drizzle of water entered. I shifted my position towards it and shut it down, its edges rattling because of the force. With the violet clouds spreading in the sky like an epidemic, I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure that a thunderstorm's coming up.

I glanced at my clock only to find out that it was still 2:44 am. Darn it, I woke up a tad too early. The sad thing was no matter how many times I'd twist and turn, I won't get back to tralaland anymore. As if. Like I'm gonna get any beauty sleep with those creepy things inside my brain.

I sighed as I scratched my head tiredly. Oh, well. I guess I'd just have to continue what I did last night.

I stood up and turned my study lamp on. The past week was the most tiring and frustrating in my entire life. And mind you, I spent eighteen years with that kind of schedule but… how should I say this? Even thinking about it makes me wanna scream 'Merde!'

I sat down on my chair and stared hard at the tattered orange record-notebook on my desk.

Krodd and Romeo went out of town two days ago to fish some information while the rest of us stayed here. We knew that nothing good could be got if we're not going to see the entire picture so we decided to push ourselves out of the boundaries. When both came back, the news was both informative and helpful, and we already got a starting point. Sad thing was that as I was making my review last night, I realized that the whole thing was… a few degrees to hopeless.

I supported my now cold forehead in my palms while I opened the worn-out thing and scanned it until I reached the middle part. I read the text for the 16th time in the last twelve hours.

_Jaran Almanov.  
Summary Report._

_This came from the series of witnesses, video clippings, and evidence that we gathered (Ps: I just skipped the less important things because it would take too long to write and I would remember something very annoying.):_

_A man who introduced himself as __Xavel__ was seen entering with Ronald Shwalt (owner of the hotel) at around 6:20 PM at the lobby. Around 9:45-a few minutes before the exhibit was officially opened, witnesses said that he was talking to __*****__Zenji, the most powerful mafia boss under the 10 Dons. We also discovered from the owner himself that Zenji was inquiring about the forbidden floor and the security measures of the building. Ronald was thrown in a state of shock as to why and how the man knew about this, but the good thing was that he never mentioned anything. He also said that he hadn't seen both men ever since._

_We discovered that both men came from the Mafia Community. We had the record of their previous activities but we cannot obtain any information on their inside jobs (as expected). We know that we cannot interrogate these men easily because of their power. We don't even know their current locations as of the moment because they don't stay in one place since they are the targets of most assassins and of course, people like us who persist on doing the righteous things._

_I tried asking Mr. Ronald about Xavel. He said that he just met the man about a week ago and he can't say anything about him except that he's a very respectable man from Kakin who owned about a hundred hectares of land._

_We asked numerous members of the community for help but all of them shut their doors. In fact, it was stupid for us to try. It was clear that they're trying to protect each other because their businesses depended on them. We also sought help from our trusted hunters but even the website did not hold any advantageous information, so we asked them to act as spies. A few days after that, they were found dead on secluded areas._

"Well, at least we had names." I muttered to myself. I pinched the bridge of my nose as I turned to the next blank page. Then, I started writing.

_(Few hours later…)_

"Argh! This can't be happening!" I growled inauspiciously as I crossed out everything again, tore the page of the thinning notebook, and threw the piece of junk into the trashcan. I can feel the fast and tensioned beating of my heart pulsating in my ears. "No..noo.." I trembled and buried my face in my arms.

I had spent the last two hours writing every possible way or solution that I can think of— I had weighed their benefits and disadvantages, and even measured the risks and the time, but all of them seemed to end at our bad sid—

No.. there must be a way.. there HAS to be a way to get it back.

Thunder suddenly crashed somewhere near the neighborhood, making me snap my head up. The turbulent gale has gotten more ferocious by the minute and the rain crashed my window like it was itching to go inside. I climbed back to my bed and closed my eyes, melting all the thoughts with me…

I need to find a way. And fast. Our time's running out. If the Fortele was not placed back in its chamber, the city's barrier would weaken rapidly. If this keeps up, our city would crumble down into the sea. "What can I do..?" I whined. Most of the vast information was extremely exclusive for hunters. I am not a hunter, and the ones we trusted were already dead. Sure, there's the hunter exam, but if I take it right now, it would be too late. This means that I can never have any access to their share of information unless I would do something illegal or pay hunters under the table just to get information…

This is an alluring catch—but if I'm going to do that would I not endanger not only my friends' lives, but the city as well?

I opened my eyes once again and sat down at my window sill. I leaned my back on one end, feeling the cold metallic frame send shivers to my spine, and planted one foot on the other. I let my other leg hang on the side. I traced the trail of water made by the raindrops on the window with my finger, and somehow I wished that tracing the bad guys was this easy.

I repeated my little game as a swarm of thoughts stung my mind like a bee. If I'm going to place myself at the feet of a typical hunter, wouldn't I be curious if someone walks up to me and offer me a huge amount of money in exchange for mere words? Of course I would be. I would think that this information is something bigger than the bucks he/she is giving me. I would therefore look for it myself with burning gusteou. I would spread the information to the other hunters and ask for their help, or maybe for competition or some sorts. It's cool, right? To have someone competing with you and that gratifying feeling once you got it?

"Shit." My eyes widened at the realization. I was right. But I don't wanna be right. Especially right now.

I jumped out of my window and paced around my room frantically. My heart thudded inside my chest as my breath hitched. I can't let that happen. No, that's by far the worst possible scenario ever! Why the hell did I think of that?! No one else must know about this. Several generations before us had sacrificed _everything_ just for the Fortele's existence to stay hidden especially from predators. Hunters, being one of them. I can't destroy their good name, and even if I did bring the Fortele back with this method would not give them any justice!

"I need to calm down. Calm down, girl…" I breathed slowly and sat on the edge of my bed. I glanced on my clock and the blaring red lights blinked 5:20 am. I gaped. Wait, how long was I thinking that hard? (was that even an appropriate question? Ugh, nevermind answering)

I stood up and opened my closet. Kneeling down, I picked the teal-colored umbrella beneath the neatly piled clothing. "Well. If I'm going to choose between pressure claustrophobia and getting sick because of the rain, I'd prepare bottles of aspirin." I grumbled darkly as I snatched my sweater from the hanger. I roughly closed the closet and left my study light on.

The rain was harder than I thought it would be. The wind blew around me as I skipped through the puddles that were made. The shower was inviting enough, so I gave in to the temptation and threw my umbrella to the side. Call me the stupidest person ever to set foot on this land for wandering around the unlighted streets in this godforsaken weather at 5 in the morning, but the rain had became my best friend (even better than Ollie) ever since my dad started his wild obsessions. It was only in the rain where I could think of anything I wanted, and say or scream what I wanted. It was only in the rain where I can be myself and not be judged. It was only in the rain that I could cry freely without anyone noticing or meddling. And most of all, only the rain can make me feel human.

Sorry, got carried away there…

I walked aimlessly around the deserted streets. Good thing that the lampposts were on duty 24/7, or else I'd crash myself in walls or garbage cans. I stopped and looked at my surroundings. The rain had slightly weakened, but the skies were still dark. I can hear the strong and rapid current of the river as I stepped on the muddy grassland, my shoes leaving footprints on the wet dirt.

I went near the cherry tree and touched its bark. Nearly two weeks ago, a handsome but strange blond boy was standing at the same spot as I was right now. His dark eyes never left my memory since then, because it reminded me of his words.

_I have information and contact with the elites that particular night._

_I can also attain information of the different nen users anywhere. _

I know that he's a hunter. Even though he was bitchy, he's strong. I can sense it even from afar.

_You will need my help sooner or later_

What made him so sure? Ever since he showed up, my mind has been in random circles of questions. I still _can't _figure him out! _Why _did he show up on this tree and told me I was hard to find? _Why _was he looking for me? _Why was_ he so sure that we would need his help? _Why had he given me_ one of the most personal means of contact without hesitation—not even thinking of his own safety? _Why _do I feel that he's on the hazardous zone when he didn't even do anything except bug me? _Why _of all people did he choose me? _What _does he want... from me? _Have _I done or said something that spiked his interest greatly?

"Have I? Did I?" I asked the tree. I don't know who to talk to anymore.

_Should I give in?_

_Should I take the risk and forget about myself?_

It didn't say anything. I felt really disappointed.

I raised my wrist and pressed the luminous button to my wristwatch: 6:24 AM.

The rain has completely subsided, and the morning air felt fresh and glorious. I was still shivering wet, but the skies were clearing up and light illuminated the whole city. I can see the rays of the rising sun as it peeked into the misty mountains in the horizon.

I wiped my hands with my dry shirt inside my sweater and got my phone from the inside pocket. It wasn't even damp. Good.

I got the tiny crumpled paper in the sweater's outside pocket. The handwriting was a bit smudged from the water, but it was still readable. I entered the numbers. My hands were trembling violently, but it was not because of the cold.

I gave a long shaky breath, my heart booming like a bass drum.

"An experimental ring wouldn't hurt, right? He's probably still sleeping."

Before I can change my mind, I pressed 'call'

_Riiiiiiing. Riiii-"Hello?"_

…_.._

_Shyyyyyt!-_I pressed the end call immediately as my heart went up my throat.

He was awake! He was not sleeping! I'm sweating so bad that I can't even feel the cold and my legs were getting weak under me. That voice… damn, it really was him! I thought he gave me some wacko's number just for the fun of it. I can feel my mind in a frantic frenzy and my hands shook as I stared at my phone. Why was I so nervous?!

I growled frustratingly. I'm Jaran freaking Almanov! I should not have a nervous breakdown because of some smartass blond.

I gave a more confident sigh and pressed 'call' again.

_Riiiing. Riiii_-

"Hello?"

"What do you want?"

Oops. Bad move.

"Pardon? Who is this?"

"…It's me. Almanov. Remember?"

"… Oh, I'm sorry I didn't catch your voice immediately. Was it you who called earlier?"

"Uhm, yeah.. ahem. Sorry 'bout that."

"It's alright. Can you wait for a few minutes? I still need to finish my shower."

"….O-oh, sure. Whatever. Take your um, time."

"I will call you back then."

_Beeeeeep._

I blew out a relieved quivering breath as I slumped down on the huge roots of the tree. I don't care how wet it was, or how many hours I'd spend in the laundry just to take the muddy stains on my arse, as long as I can give my poor legs some time to relax. The river's current was still quite strong, but with the new scenery, the rippling sound became soothing. Little mockingbirds perched on the trunks of the tree as they chirped happily, like they're greeting good morning to each other.

Come to think of it, I didn't even greet or said excuse me.

Way to go, Miss Respectful.

I clasped my hands and stretched my arms up. I'm sure he's gonna take some time to get dressed or something, so maybe I'll just wait at home while I change my—

_Brrrrrrrrrr. Brrrrrrrrrr._

Huh, that was quick.

I slid my finger down the screen.

"Yo."

"I was beginning to think you'd never call."

"I was thinking the same thing for the past two weeks, actually. I almost burned the paper when I saw it."

"But you still contacted me." There was humor in his voice. Cheh, jerk.

"I need to make one thing clear."

He made a small hum. "You're going to ask me if I'm really going to help you."

I pursed my lips. "You're quick."

I heard small tapping noises like someone was walking on an empty hallway. "It depends on our negotiation. I might, if you would cooperate with me as well."

I huffed. "What do you wanna take?"

I heard the tapping stop. "I'm not discussing it on the phone."

I nearly dropped my phone. "Wha-?" … Then it hit me. " You want us to meet you?!"

"I hope I made it clear that you're not bringing anyone else but yourself." His voice was serious, even resolute.

I nearly groaned, but I quickly caught it before it escaped my lips. Dang, I forgot that it will be only the _two of us_ doing this. "I-I know that. Sorry, wrong choice of words." Then a question popped in my head.

"Why not on the phone? Are we being.. tracked?" I can feel the dread crawling in my stomach.

There was a surprised pause, and I can hear a very apparent amusement in his tone. "I don't think so. You can relax"

I pouted. He's having the stupid time of his life while I'm fidgeting down to my toenails. "You—urgh." I growled. "So, it's not for safety purposes?

"Partly." There was still a trace of humor in his voice. "But it's mainly assurance."

I blinked, confused. "..Assurance with what, exactly?"

"That no one of us will back down once we agreed." His monotone haughtiness was back.

I nearly hissed. God damn the world, this guy's smart. He's not making me dodge his loopholes.

"Fine." I muttered through gritted teeth. "Choose the place."

"No, I think you should choose it." There was suggestiveness in his tone. "You're the woman."

Dumb feminine chivalry. Gag.

I nearly told him that he was waaaay girlier than me than anything, but that's not the point now, is it?

"You should choose it please. You made the deal, for crying out loud!" What is this boy made of, anyway?! First, he goes on like a bitch, and then he becomes a gentleman. He's like a teenage girl who can't make up his mind!

I heard a sigh. "Alright then. I'll contact you once I've made reservations."

"Reservations!? Whaaa—"

_Beeeeeeep. Beeeep._

I stood up a little too quickly and trapped my foot into the roots of the tree, then, as expected, I fell flat on my face. When I pulled back with a mouthful and noseful of mud and grass, I rubbed my swollen forehead. Reservations? What was that guy thinking about, a candlelight dinner or something?

He's so weird. And arrogant. And annoying with an exclamation point.

I crawled away from the tree and the roots as I stood up in an awkward position. Wow, I looked like I was swimming in a pool of shite and mud. Man, I should probably go away from here before someone sees me and think that I'm an escapee from the psycho ward.

But then a thought flitted inside my brain as I pressed my palms behind my heated neck.

Reservations… A new place… a stranger that would accompany me who happens to be a guy… And I agreed… Huh?

….

"WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKIIIIIIIING?!"

_Echo, echo, echo…_

Several birds from the mountains flew away.

* * *

**THE GUY WITH THE * is the one at the Genrei Ryodan Arc-ya know, the one whom Kurapika punched and the one who tried to take the scarlet eyes from him and the one who freaked out when Kurapika removed his lenses? THAT ONE! XD**

**Anyway, please feel free to review. :)**

while i was typing this, i got a bit distracted when i imagined Kurapika answering the phone with only a towel.. and dripping wet... Yeah, um, sorry 'bout that. *wipes nosebleed off nose*


	6. Body Double

**AU/N: Yoshah! :3 everyone, THANKYOU for the wonderful and encouraging reviews! you're the reason why this story reached its seventh chapter! (well i know that it's still a bit early for celebration but there were really times that i _did _thought of not continuing with the story). But anyways, please do tell me if i'm making Kurapika OOC because that's what i really feared and it's also the reason why i often hesitated to make Jaranx Kurapika moments. xD okehh?**

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The moment I stepped inside the automatic sliding doors, I knew that there was no turning back.

The too-bright lights greeted my unsteady vision as I clenched my fist into the handles of the metal door. I was still feeling a bit woozy because of the flight earlier this morning, and the sudden gush of air-conditioning gave me an instant brain freeze. I took a deep breath. Maybe this really _was_ a bad idea…

_Idiot, get over your crap, please. _I mentally kicked myself asI straightened up and looked around.

Rows of blue seats stretched as far as the end of the unit. There were only a few passengers scattered among them, so it didn't take me long to choose my place, which was the left part at the back. I walked soundlessly into the thick layer of gray carpet, painfully aware of the curious stares given by the other passengers. I pulled my bullcap lower to hide my face. I never really was the type of person who enjoyed attention, anyway.

Too bad, I was caught by a particular blond's attention in a way I'm not comfortable with. And I'm not even sure why.

As soon as I settled myself in the seat beside the window, I puffed my cheeks in relief. I tossed my backpack on my foot and zipped the front pocket to get my phone. The screen made an obnoxious blink.

_1 missed call: Blondie Boy_

Ho-ho-ho. Well if he was expecting a call back, he was bound to be disappointed.

I racked my phone's inbox, hoping for a message or two from my teammates. Apparently, they were not a bit happy when I announced that I would be out of town for a few days because I got an important business to attend to. They kept on asking about it, but I just can't tell them the real reason without breaking a big (if not screwed up) promise. I was never a good liar to begin with, and if I did try to lie, even a deaf cat would slap me. So my only choice was to shut up until the day of my departure arrived. All of them went to the airport to say goodbye (but of course, the angry punches in my head from the male population was never absent) and it really made me feel guilty. Or maybe that was their purpose? Hmm, sneaky idiots.

I slipped the gadget into the pocket of my shirt and clasped my hands in between my legs.

My eyes traveled to the window and tried to make out the fuzzy shapes, but with the speed of this modern Maglev train, it's no use. All I can make up was the darkening orange-and-violet sky. I threw my head back and leaned on the soft cushion, still wondering what Kurapika immensely wanted that he decided to go this far despite my bratty attitude towards him. I mean, the guy was being abnormally kind to a stranger—he chose the place where we should meet; he gave me suggestions on what transportation I should take after I told him that I rarely traveled; he even sent a map of Jappon in case I might get lost; he _even_ told me that he would pay my expenses in case I go short in cash! Isn't that suspicious? It made me remember of that movie wherein a girl was tricked by a guy into going someplace and she was unknowingly sold to a brothel.

Nah, that ain't gonna happen.

I traced the outlines of my gun in my pocket. I still got four in my backpack, all of different kinds. Now, if that guy's gonna lay even a single finger on me, I would shoot him to death and happily donate him to the medical school's biology lab for basic male anatomy class. The female population would die from happiness. And probably the males too, with that kind of face.

I shivered involuntarily as an image of a naked Kurapika corpse being surrounded by dreamy fangirls and fanboys popped into my mind. Ughhh. Better not think of that.

But what if he was just trying to be a gentleman? From my point of view, he struck me as the type of person who was really strict on his pride, morality and principles. He didn't care of other people's opinions because he thought highly of his own. And while he was arrogant, he was also formal. It's like being a gentleman was a part of his ways, but he did this for his own honor.

Now I'm starting to think of gentlemanliness as a bad thing.

But no, chivalry was out of the question from the start. Chivalry didn't answer _most_ of my questions. This particular help he was about to give would cost his position in the Nostrade's manor and Light's trust towards him. This would probably cost his life too—if things don't come out well. Didn't he ponder about these thoughts? No, that was a stupid question. What was his response when these thoughts came into his mind?

Why was he willing to take such risk?

_Brrrrrrrrrrrr. Brrrrrrrrrrr_

Speak of the devil.

"Hey. Sorry I didn't call you back." I immediately uttered. I didn't really mean it that much, but why be a jerk?

"Are you at the airport right now?" I think he noticed my lie, but he didn't point it out.

"No, actually I'm at the train."

"I thought you picked the nine o'clock flight."

"I did. But the airship was unbelievably fast!" I grinned as I remembered the cool view of the city. I had always wanted to travel around the globe and try all kinds of transportation, but too many factors stopped me from doing so. "It didn't make any stopovers, so that's why I arrived earlier than expected. It made me feel a bit sick though…" I admitted sheepishly while I scratched my cheek.

"I'm sorry about that. It is normal to experience uneasiness during the first time. Do you still feel ill right now?"

"Geez, man. This ain't my first time in a plane, you know. Just that I didn't get to travel that much. But other than that, I'm feeling extremely good!" when he didn't respond, I sighed in defeat. I knew babbling was always a bad idea when trying to cover up something.. sheesh. He must have heard through my voice. I really was the worst liar. "Fine. A bit jetlagged. And really confused. What is all this about, anyway? Care to explain? You're not sending me to a male comfort den, are you?" I grumpily propped my elbow into the arm rest and rested my cheek on my fist. "Dude, I think I deserve some answers. I went through a lot because of this."

"Of course not." he replied tersely. "Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

"Then what?" My voice suddenly rose. "Why are you being too suspiciously kind to a stranger like me? Why did you follow me that night? Why did you choose me out of all my teammates? What do you want from me, exactly?" Words came rushing out of my mouth before I could even stop it. The other end of the line was silent, like he was contemplating on what he should reveal. Or not.

Then I added for dramatic special effects. "I have the right to know."

There was more silence, then he suddenly spoke with a low voice. ".. I do need something from you very badly." He replied mysteriously. "But my decision is final. I am not discussing anything on the phone. I think you know why I would not."

They way he said that he needed something from me made my heart thud uncomfortably. What have I gotten myself into?

"Jaran—" A cheery girl's voice called out in the background. He sighed. "I'll call you back."

_Beeeeeeep._

I slowly lowered my phone from my ear and stared at it blankly. I robotically sat it on maximum volume without thinking and placed it back into my bag's front pocket. There's no doubt about it—he wanted something from me. And he wanted it so damned bad he would probably buy the whole world. I should've been expecting this, I know… but the initial shock still numbed me.

And it felt really strange when he called me by my first name.

* * *

The sky was turning really dark when I woke up from my nap. I looked around and realized that more people had already arrived and were seated at the front row. I took my earplugs from my bag and connected it into my music player. As I was pushing each into my ear, I noticed two familiar men occupying the seats in front of me.

They were talking merrily as they sat down. The younger guy who had platinum blond hair and sleeveless lavender outfit was telling his companion that his sources were always reliable, and that they were so easy to play with, but he also said that he's not sure of the exact hotel the guy was staying. The other man, who was wearing a traditional robe and his hair in a single topknot, replied that it's fine as long as he can finally get even with _that son of a bitch _without having to worry about anything.

I bit back a gasp as realization finally kicked in.

Their faces were on the news for several months.

_Genrei… Ryodan.._

I tried my best not to be alarmed and calmly rested my hands in my lap. The two men continued talking loudly as if they were the only ones on the train. Well, even with the rock music, I can still hear them clearly as if they were using megaphones. I really want to tell them to at least respect the people who wanted to hit the sack, but then I remembered how many people they had killed. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

They probably wouldn't care less.

I stole a glance at my wristwatch while stifling back a yawn. The constant sitting and doing nothing was making my body sluggish and hungry. Ah, I remembered buying that tasty-looking hamburger at the plane. I bent down to unzip my bag while gently patting my noisy stomach.

I stopped midway, my ears perking up as I heard a familiar name being mentioned.

My blood ran cold as I slowly backed away. The two men were unaware, _luckily unaware_ that I was listening. Even with the backrest as the barrier between me and them, I still feared that they might have sensed my anxiety. I began praying to the gods that I never remembered believing, hoping that none of them can read thoughts.

They continued talking about the person, and with every startling information, I felt every nerve ending of my body sparking like a firecracker.

"_With the boss finally out of danger, we can pummel that bastard Kurapika to the ground and torture him mercilessly."_

"_Let's see if his chains can hold us back, though I'm pretty sure they're as rusty as he is now.."_

I bit my lip to stop it from quivering. Chains..? Boss..? Kurapika an enemy of the Troupe..? What's the meaning of this..?

"_I will throw him into hell and spit at him, for good measure. Uvogin and Pakunoda's death must be brought to justice."_

"_Now, now, Nobunaga, don't be selfish! You're not the only one who'd want to beat him, y'know!"_

I remained immobilized in my seat as my hands felt like it was dipped in ice for a year. I remembered numerous reports about the sadistic brutality of these men. Two years ago, a bloodbath happened at York Shin City and they were the proud killers. More than 400 men with immense weapons and modern ammunition were wiped out in a snap and even the Mafia's Shadow Beasts and some hired assassins didn't stand a chance. Not only that, they destroyed hundreds of chimera ants and one of them even defeated the queen. Then Kurapika he... killed some of the Troupe's members? Why did he do that? Just how strong was he?

What kind of demon was I dealing with?

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! Hello, you have a caaaaaaaall! You have a caaaaaaaaall!**

I whipped around. Both surprised and absolutely pestered because my eavesdropping was disturbed. Who in the right state of mind would set an ungodly ringtone like that?!

….

The two men suddenly kept quiet and turned to me. The unnerving screaming frog came from my bag.

_Oh, for the love of Cows_

And I remembered that Kurapika said he would call.

…

_Shit_

I was suddenly aware of the time-bomb I had become, about to explode into insanity. My eyes bounced from one guy to another, then to my bag. All the blood from my face went down. There's no way—absolutely _no flippin' _way I'm gonna answer that call right at this extremely critical moment!

"Well, kid. Aren't ya going to answer that? 'Cause it's getting so freaking annoying." The older guy gave me a death glare. And when I say _death,_ I meant it to be literal.

Am I going to answer that?! The guy ringing my phone is their _freaking _mortal enemy! It's like asking for a death wish! I tried to swallow my saliva to quench my very dry throat, but it only made me choke. The older guy continued to glower while his companion's attention was on his phone as I coughed and sputtered. As soon as my larynx calmed down, I called out all the courage in my body and looked at them straight in the eye.

With the coolest, calmest, and fakest voice I could muster, I managed to blurt out. "Of course, and I'm sorry I disturbed you."

The younger guy gave his companion a fake glare and a pout. "Hey, no need to be mean." Then he turned to me and winked. "Sorry 'bout that, miss cutie. My friend here is just over-excited."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too…"

As soon as they turned around, I rapidly seized the bag from the floor and it landed straight into my lap. Have you ever felt the feeling that someone in front of you can very effectively and quickly end your life in less than a blink if you make the smallest bit of mistake? That's exactly what my mind was screaming about. With frozen and shaky fingers, I clumsily opened the zipper and got my phone, anxious to turn it off. I didn't even bother looking at the screen as I pressed the power button.

They continued talking, but this time, their voices were now hushed. They kept on glancing at my direction and to my phone. I had to close my eyes so that no emotion would betray me.

The fear of discovery was overwhelming. If these men caught wind of my knowledge about Kurapika and his whereabouts, I'm gonna be minced meat! I can't let them suspect me. I need to act more composed than I was acting earlier.

Then I noticed the boy's unashamed gaze lingering on me. When I met his eyes, he gave me a sly smirk. "So, miss. How come you didn't answer that call? Might've been important."

I could hardly keep my breathing in check. "Um, it was just some annoying guy.."

He raised a brow and hummed. "Oooh? I wonder how annoying he was that made you nervous like that." His smirk turned into a devious grin. "May I know who he was, then? Maybe I can help you get rid of him."

_Oh shitshitshithshit he knows, he knows—_

"U-um, it's alright. It's fine, really."

He pursed his lips and mused with fake disappointment. "… Awww, I was so looking forward to helping a pretty girl like you. Maybe that guy you were mad about was someone _we_ _might know_…."

I blanched.

Oh no

I'm in deep trouble.

"A-ahh.. Don't worry about it… he's just nobody."

The older guy whispered something to him before stealing a quick glance. Then they both faced front again, leaving me completely in turmoil.

I need to get out of here. Fast. Even if it would take me the entire night to hike all the way to Yamanashi. Kurapika would understand if I would be late—he has to. He must also answer all of my questions, or I would immediately go home and never let him see my face again. But what if they would follow me?

That's it! I would leave this place as soon as these guys leave. I would have to wait.

I grimaced. I hate saying this again, but I knew right at that single millisecond that the gods were not entirely fond of my face.

They're probably having a beach party in heaven.

The next thirty minutes was probably the longest thirty minutes of my life as I waited for them to take off. I didn't even know what place they stopped, and I never dared to look up as they stood. I can feel them sparing a glance at me, but still I continued to (pretend to) bang my head with the music. As soon as they were out of sight, I nearly cried in relief. I gulped fresh, sweet air into my lungs.

That was _so _close!

I rewarded my respiratory system with another dozen of oxygen for the next ten minutes after I suffocated myself with my dinner. I was about ready to doze off; when I remembered the call I canceled. Should I give the blonde a ring? Because I can sense he's ready to deep-fry and marinate me completely in crap-infested septic tanks for missing a lot of his calls.

But now that those guys were suspecting something from me, am I still safe? Even turning my phone on felt dangerous.

I shook my head. They're _gone_. I should be fine already. I can make stupid phone calls, damn it. While taking a handkerchief and wiping my perspiration, I fumbled for my phone and turned it back on. Then I hesitated. What if they're just hiding in the dark while waiting for the moment that I'd call Kurapika and then they would pounce like lions? They _are _the Genrei Ryodan, after all.

_Pssssh. Don't be ridiculous. It's not like you're gonna see them again._

I terribly hope so.

I dialed the dreaded number. As soon as it started ringing, it was immediatelyreceived but there was only silence.

"Kurapika.. san?" I suddenly remembered all the things I've learned that I felt chills by even just saying his name.

There was a pregnant pause on the other line. Was he mad? "…. It seems that you're ignoring me on purpose. Is there something wrong?" He sounded pretty irritated.

Point taken, Blond boy.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not ignoring you, idiot"

I heard an angry hiss. "What did you call me?"

I was taken aback by his sudden outburst, and then I felt guilty. "Sorry, I—"

"You still got the nerve to call me that after you failed to answer my calls?" he spat with disdain. All the guilt that I felt was forgotten, and I was getting annoyed too. He didn't know what happened!

"Well _I need _some answers too, you know! And you're not telling me anything!" I retorted.

"Don't act like it's the same thing."

"It _is _the same thing, you moron!"

"Would you stop calling me that?"

"You deserve it." I seethed through gritted teeth.

"How did _I_ deserve it? I was not the one who lost something I should've been protecting."

That stung. "Well you need something from me and you're acting like a jerk!"

"Like you're _not?"_

I nearly broke my phone. "You.. you..! You're impossible!"

"And so are you." Despite the animosity in his voice, I found a hint of satisfaction. It got me even more irritated.

I growled.

"Don't you go acting like you're high and mighty just because you're handsome, you stupid—!" I bit my tongue in horror so hard I could taste blood. My face suddenly turned _very warm…_

I didn't say that… did I?

"I'm not acting high and mighty." He sighed in exasperation. Thank goodness he didn't catch that! "I think you need to get some rest. You're just probably stressed. Call me when you arrive and be careful on your trip." With that, he hung up.

I blew out a breath as I slumped into my chair. Instead of feeling really mad at the guy, I felt great and relieved of the stress. It's as if all the angst and fear inside my stomach was scooped out and thrown into somewhere that I could never see it again. Who would've thought a bickering contest kept me sane? I managed a goofy smile.

Good thing he's dense.

But he still got a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

As the night turned darker, a dangerous aura of two men sat on the roof of the speeding train. Their figures were covered in darkness as they converse in low tones.

"Are you sure about her?"

"Trust me, Nobunaga. She knows something. I checked on her earlier"

"Ahhhh." The older man whistled. "So, why don't we just take on her right now?"

"Nah, that would be no fun. We'll just pounce on her when she comes out."

The older man made a sing-song tune. "Ooooh?" Then he crossed his arms and raised a sly brow. "Are you thinking of something nice, Shalnark? She _is _pretty cute, by the way."

The boy only smirked. "Hmmmm."

* * *

**Oooooh? what'cha gonna do now, Jaran?**

**As always, please rate, comment, review, flame or whatever for possible improvements.**

PS: I really love Shalnark. XD (pretty obvious?) He's probably the closest of age with the protagonists and the smartest. **anyway CRITICISMS WILL ALWAYS BE WELCOMED. please do feel free to voice out your thoughts if you felt that something's not quite right :)**


	7. Deceit

**AU/N: okay, okay. really quick and short update, right? actually this was already floating inside my head even before i thought about the last two chapters-i just can't figure out where to place it xD**

So, here iziiit! read onnn :)

* * *

"No, Miss Neon; I think I'll pass."

"Awwww, Pretty pleeeease? With sugar, sprinkles, choco chips, marshmallows, and vanilla on top! And strawberries! Ooooh, I love strawberries!"

"Thank you for the offer, Miss. But I must decline this time. Good night."

"Hwaaaaaa. You're no fun, Kurapikawaii-kuun! It's just poker. Ah! If you win, then maybe I can give you my collection of the Miyashin Kokoro tribe's tongues! I've got lots of 'em! And they even stretch when you pull them far enough! Isn't that cool?!"

"Like I said, Miss Neon. I think I'm ready to retire for the night. And you must, too."

"Hmmph, Well, whatever! I hope bedbugs bite your ears and go inside your nose! Good night."

With that, I shut the door and turned away from the nickname that was as vile as my mistress.

And maybe not just her, but hopefully her father as well.

Even just for one moment of solitude in my own haven is enough reward for me. True, this may not have been my ideal personal space-I might have preferred much more to reside into the place I once call home, but all that is just wishful thinking. But any place that I can let my mind wander from reality is a gift I could hardly turn down.

With another auction held here at Yamanashi, I could only rant my silent vendetta inside my head as the young mistress gleefully added another skeleton of a chimera ant in her disgusting collection. Ever since the Scarlet Eyes-_my people's _Scarlet Eyes were stolen from her two years ago, she would relentlessly look for another pair with extreme audacity. Knowing this—and the fact that she would simply discard of them as soon as her affection for it would disappear by time—almost made me want to hate her with all my might. But I was paid to protect her, so I could never dwell on that thought for too long. But even so, not even the contract I signed would be a logical reason enough to give up the pairs I found myself.

I was suddenly awakened from my reverie as a soft knock engulfed my thoughts.

"… Kurapika?" A dulcet sound from a tiny figure appeared at the opening of my door. I glanced at her for a moment, and gave a curt nod. "Do you need something, Senritsu?"

She gently closed the door behind her and gave a small strained smile. "The eyes of your kinsmen were bought successfully by Light-sama."

I turned away from her as I felt the hole in my heart enlarge. I could never decide what to feel during these situations: resentment because the Scarlet Eyes belonged to a rich lowlife scum, or relieved because I know where it is and have the ability to protect it. Senritsu must have expected that things would turn out this way that's why she decided to relay the message herself. Only she could understand my agitation, maybe even better than I did.

"Okay." I could only manage a whisper as I struggled to control my darkening emotions.

The lights from outside were the only ones that illuminated my excuse for a room. Despite how grand this place may seem, the emptiness in me can never be filled. Not even with riches or money or voluptuous whores of the matter. Not that I had tried any of those, nor wish for it.

I was about to prepare for my bed when I realized that my friend was still rooted on her spot, with a look of perplexity and… worry? I frowned. "Senritsu, do you still have something else to say?"

There was a blanket of silence hanging between us for a while. She just continued to stare at me with that look on her face while I was starting to get impatient. My frown deepened I sat down at my bed. "If you have nothing to converse about, then please get—"

"Are you…" She took a step forward. "What are you planning to do to the girl?"

I froze.

She scrutinized me for a moment as I looked away. "It does not concern you."

"Kurapika, I can hear your heart." Her voice shook with bitterness as she continued. "You.. are simply going to use her."

I gripped on my bedsheets, along with the bubble of fury that was about to burst. "If this would be the key to unlocking the secrets of her father about the sudden discovery of my clan and the precious eyes, then I'm going to take the chance." I gave a huff. "Besides, she's using me too."

Her fists clenched as she spoke, her voice starting to rise. "You know that's not true! Her heart is truthful and pure, Kurapika. Do not taint her with pain she does not deserve."

I turned to look at her. "You said so yourself that you could not hear her heartbeat."

She shook her head. "She must have made a special barrier or neutralization within her, that's why."

I vehemently mocked her as the bubble of fury started to literally spark. "Then the information of her not subjected to nen or any form of it must be a lie."

Her scowl did not suit her at all, but that's what she gets for opening this topic with me. "She must've been doing it unconsciously for a while now. Kurapika, I might not hear her heart, but I can see it through her eyes." She pleaded, her eyes mixed with anguish. "Please, Kurapika. Don't."

I stood up from my bed. This conversation is done. "If this is the only way, Senritsu. You can't stop me."

The dead stillness was louder than any scream as I felt the silent anger of my friend chilling the air. It lasted for several minutes, and then she spoke again. "By what, Kurapika? Altering your attitude? Hiding in a mask and forcing yourself to be out of character so that the poor girl would be attracted to you? Being fraudulently… charming? All this so that you can get what you wanted? Do you have any idea that you can leave an irrevocable scar to someone undeserving of your selfishness once your plan works out?" She cried the words out as if insects were coming out of her mouth.

My body shook with immense rage as she spoke those words and my vision became obscure. All those sounded so wrong, so undeniably out of my line in morality, and so cruel. But no matter how disgusting and foreign this sounded to me, the silent truth echoed in my ears like a thousand gongs played together.

"I…" I swallowed the remaining saliva left in my dry mouth. "If she was of an easier character to bend, then I would never have dared to resort into that grotesque plan. But unlike most women, simple woes cannot convince that girl. She's different, and I have to admit of her being quite challenging to the extent of me stooping down to her childishness."

"But you would still carry on with your plan without any emotional attachment, or even pity." Her eyes became rigid with disappointment. I fell silent once again to let her hear my answer. Then she turned around, finally defeated.

I never realized that my eyes had already turned scarlet until I found my vision starting to clear up again. Before she finally exited my abode and left me to my misery, I could hear her almost inaudible whimper.

_Why have you become so cruel, Kurapika?_

I fell into my bed and closed my eyes.

"Because for the Kuruta Clan, I will do whatever it takes."

* * *

**Oh noooes, poor, poor jaran :( Even Kurapika has no idea of what she is about to face and now this?**

**_boom boom boom boom, i want you in my room xD_**


	8. Fight or Flight

**Hisashiburi :) **WARNING: explicit blood, action, language and slight torture :D this is what the rating's all about. Please don't hesitate to make reviews because that is the most helpful and encouraging act for the writers. Sankeyu!

**Also, please reread the last parts because I edited/added some thoughts and things :D**

* * *

_Swish—crack, cackle—crunch, tap, tap, tap, crunch_

The girl ran at full speed into the heart of the forest. Eyes bloodshot and heart rate speeding up, she let the darkness swallow her entire form as she swiftly slashed the vines and plants that got in her way with a swiss knife. Just behind her she could hear a rush of wind and the rustle of bushes... _and soft whispers hovering in the air._ Without even pausing to breath, she glanced over her shoulder. The moon didn't shine on anything out of place. She could see no one, but the ominous feeling of being followed still lingered in her thoughts. If her hunch was right, the two members of the Troupe did tail on her secretly as soon as they went out of that train last night—even when she walked around the deserted train station this morning and stayed there until sundown for the hope of losing them. She didn't see them, but her instincts told her they're there.

Good for that blond bastard that she didn't stop exactly at Yamanashi, or he'd be grilled cheese (which was right now, not an entirely bad idea). He must've been wondering by now since she was supposed to arrive earlier that morning. But the bull she cares?! The reason she's been chased by class-A demons right now is entirely HIS fault! The sad thing was that all the odds were turning up against her.

She paused abruptly once she reached a small clearing. She tried looking around, but the trees surrounding her were like skyscrapers blocking the only source of light. Her only proof of the place being a clearing was the soft patch of grass that stretched for about 2 meters perhaps, if her senses aside from her eyes didn't fail her. Everything else was covered in shadows, and she didn't even had time to react when several panicked crows swooped into her direction. She hissed in pain as she wiped the warm liquid trailing down her left cheek with the back of her hand. The paranoia was slowly sucking her sanity like a leech, but emotions would do very little to help her. She _must_ keep herself in check if she wished to survive.

She refused to make any movement as she closed her eyes to focus.

_Rustle—whoosh, rustle._

It came from behind her—the previous path she took.

Her brain processed the sudden information quickly. Leaving the most obvious path, she turned to the right and made consecutive turns and leaps among the deeper and darker foliage with the least sound she could make. To the normal state of mind, this was not to be the most helpful place when it comes to the sense of sight. If that clearing was already considered dark, then this was abyss. Her eyes should have adjusted with the darkness by now, but hell, she couldn't even recognize simple silhouettes. She couldn't do anything else but rely on her ears and gut.

The sharp bushes were like knives delving into her skin and on her face, but she paid no attention to it. She felt something whizz behind her, and she jerked to the side to dodge it—and the thing hit the illuminated part of the trunk of the tree with a loud _crunch_. As she made a sidestep, her foot became trapped on the vines which made her lost her balance, but she backflipped just before she hit the ground while slashing the annoying weed that caused her trouble. She made a quick glance at the thing before dashing off again. It looked like an odd shaped kunai, and it gleamed a terrifying silver as the light reflected on it. She looked back.

To her sheer horror, the tree disintegrated into thin air. What the freaking bells of kingdom come would have happened if that hit her?!

The dangerous aura felt closer now, and low chuckles whispered into her ear. Despite her rapid movements, she began to tremble. She could not—_must not _make the same mistake twice of giving in to emotions. No, not this time please.

_What're you running for, neko-chan?_

She bit back a whimper as she grabbed a small hand grenade from her jacket pocket. Not wasting any time, she pulled the pin with her teeth and hurled it behind her. She brought this with her three days ago just for the fun of it, and also for her teammates to freak out. Who would've thought that this could be of _extremely important _use? She would have laughed at the situation if she wasn't as scatter-brained as of the moment.

BOOOOM!

A strong gust of wind nearly blew her cap away as she ducked beneath the bushes. A surprised yell and curse words were heard next, and it became her signal to move away from the place as fast as she can. Her knees shook beneath her due to the impact but she still continued running through the thick layer of smoke.

Her eyes became watery as she struggled not to breathe in the gas. Whilst she was running, she grabbed her battery-powered compass and pressed the luminosity button—it pointed east. If she would continue to run in this direction, she would end up in the river. A little northeast and she would go deeper into the wilderness. If she was to go to the opposite direction, she could reach the tunnel that would lead to the train station in three hours. Well that's good, but a bit too time-and energy-consuming. But if she'd go south… she'd also end up in the tunnel in 45 seconds. That's a catch. But the problem is that he's coming from that way. If she needs to resort to that, at least a little distraction would be needed.

…. She could still probably worm her way out of this.

Her pace continued as she slid under a hole on a tree. With one hand holding the root and another hand pushing herself inside, all it took was a little force to hide herself completely. She immediately pushed herself into the end and ignored the putrid smelling goo surrounding her as she curled up into a ball. With trembling fingers, she silently and fearfully rubbed the bruised parts of her palms. Her breathing hitched as she squeezed her eyes shut. _Please Lord, please? Just for today. Give me a chance to live please._

But despite her wish to live, she decided to make her last will. She turned her phone on and the screen glowed. She didn't waste time to check on the dozens of _angry _messages as she wrote her own rapidly.

She barely pressed the 'send' button when she heard a gaily yell.

"_Heeeello? Where are yoouuu?"_

Her heartbeat escalated as she placed a hand in her mouth and nose. The calling was not so distant, and she felt as if she was dropping down from the air at 3000 kilometers per minute. The uncontainable fear inside her burst into shards, and she realized that her situation was far, far worse than on the train. Beads of cold sweat dripped down to her chin, mixing with the stream of blood that already stained her paler-than-pale face. Her clothes were drenched in sweat and a little blood which came from the cuts she obtained. She was afraid to even tremble or blink… or even breathe.

"…Y_ou're one sneaky little cat, are you? Come out now. I won't hurt you."_

She can't die yet.

Anticipation suddenly filled her senses as his voice became closer. He's probably alone, granting that he won't need his friend to kill a helpless girl. With her having no ability with nen, it would as easy as breaking a toothpick. A scary thought, indeed. She never wanted to be a prey. But she tossed the fear away and forced the determination from within as she soundlessly took the M79 grenade lounger and a revolver from her bag. Not really a good choice of weapon to scare a freaking member of the Phantom Troupe away, but this might be her only chance. What kind of distraction must she do? Fighting face-to-face or begging him to spare her life would be a ticket to the other world. _What should she do? _Her heart became wild.

She licked her lips and shifted her body into a pre-sprint position, her head crouched so low. All the power and adrenaline rushed towards her legs. Life or death? Be the predator or the prey? Fight or flight?

One shot will answer it all. Just like a marathon. One shot and go. The decision's up to her to reach the finish line and be the winner—or the loser.

_Cackle, swish, crunch._

"Yohoo? I know you're near!" The cheery voice was only a few feet away from the tree.

_Ready…_

She stopped breathing altogether and her fingers turned ice cold as his feet became visible—he's standing in front of the tree now. "Awwww? Where'd she goo?"

_Set.._

If she gives up, she can still beg. If she fights, she'd be dead.

But giving up means telling where Kurapika is, and no matter how much she wanted to curse his name forever for giving her hellfire, he's the only hope of bringing the Fortele back.

_GO!_

"BOOOO! Found you~~~!"

A pair of bright eyes and an innocent smile shone menacingly in front of her.

"Sorry, but I plan to get the trophy."

She pulled the trigger.

**-BOOOOOOM!**

A huge burst of very bright and hot flames greeted both teenagers as the explosion destroyed nearly everything at 10-meter radius. The girl was sent flying into midair.

She managed to maintain her consciousness despite the damage she received. Dancing stars appeared in front of her eyes and the painful ringing of her ears declared her eardrums to be severed. Her body hurt like hell and she got more than a few burns, but she forced herself to move and prepare for a landing. The entire scenery was ablaze, and the boy was nowhere to be found. May he be dead or alive, she didn't care anymore.

As soon as her feet made contact with the ground, she turned south and dashed.

She never knew how long she was running and she never bothered looking at the time. Her wristwatch was pretty broken anyway so there's no point. Numbing sensations filled her skull as her mind started to spin. She can't hear anything except for deafening buzzes, and her ears felt like they were covered in spiked headphones. Her legs shook violently beneath her—must've been the aftershock of the blast. She fell down to the ground with a thud. Wince. Groan.

She realized she had made contact with concrete floor. She could feel happy tears forming in her eyes.

_I'm near…_

She forced herself up and looked straight ahead as she hugged her bag to her chest. She had reached the tunnel! Only a few blocks away to reach the train station! Why didn't she notice that?!

She could see the light at the far end. She ran at her fastest speed despite her shaky legs.

_Free! Free at last! Unstoppable me!_

The grin in her face could never be erased as a new rush of willpower danced inside her veins. The sound of trains could be heard.

_Kurapika you goddamned bastard! Prepare to meet your doom!_

The light was turning brighter. She could already see the signboard: Jappon Underground Expressway.

"Yess! I'm Finally—ugh!"

Her sentence was cut off when a foot landed at her back. Several bones cracked as she propelled down to the concrete floor hard.

_Dangit_

_She was too slow._

"Trophy, eh?" The easy-going voice of the boy buzzed into her ear as he laughed. The throbbing of her nose and the intense ache in her back made her groan as she rolled over to lie flat on her back. The fear made its way up to her stomach once again.

"You're one slow runner, kitten. I thought you'd outrun me granting that I had given you time to escape. But I guess I gave you too much credit, did I?" His blue shoes made a tapping sound as he approached her, his bright eyes gleaming as if he was an eight year-old boy who found a cool toy car. "But you got good reflexes, I'd give you that. Hmmm, I really went out of my way to ask Feitan for that dagger y'know." He pouted.

She frowned as dark thoughts entered her mind. The explosion was _supposed to be aimed at him. _Ironic, now she was the one suffering while his appearance remained unscathed. The fear instantly dissipated and was replaced by irritation. Are all blond-haired testosterones bastards?

He placed a hand on his hip and grinned innocently. "My name's Shalnark, by the way. Nice to meet you!"

The lights on the tunnel flickered as she gaped at him. He possessed a strangely calm and cheery aura for a murderer and that is what seemed to make him all the more threatening in a prisoner's mind. Scratch all that crap, all she could think of was how to punch him in the face. She managed to croak grimly, her voice hoarse. "Nice to meet you too, asshole. Thanks for the kick."

He puffed his cheeks and frowned. "My name is not asshole! It's Shalnark! S-H-A-L-N-A-R-K. Got it?"

She propped her elbows with a small wince and forced herself to sit up. Long messy strands of green locks framed her face, and the black chopstick she secured her hair with was on the verge of falling down. Little twigs and leaves were trapped among the strands, and her bullcap had burnt holes in them. Her jacket and pants were torn, and her shoes were caked with mud. Her bag flew 5 meters away from her, and with that, all her hopes crumbled down. Now she was really going to die.

Funny, the thought didn't bother her anymore.

"Yo, are you even listening to me? I wanna know your name." She snapped her head up to meet his gaze. His constant smiling irritated her even more.

Bright cerulean versus defiant violet.

"If you're just going to kill me, then what's the point?"

He raised a brow and laughed, his eyes nearly disappearing into crescent moons. "Whoever said that I'm gonna kill you now? I'm not that heartless, kitty. So, are you going to tell me your name? Or do you prefer just kitty?"

She highlighted the word _now. _"Right. Killing shitloads of people for money ain't heartless."

"Dirty little mouth for a feisty girl, eh?"

Her brows furrowed as she glared at him. "What the hell do you want from me?"

He knelt down in front of her as he winked. "I like that look you're giving me. Now, tell me what you know about the chain guy."

She hissed. "I'd rather die."

He gripped her chin and pulled her closer to his face. "Don't be hard, kitty. I might change my mind."

She gritted her teeth. "I'm **not **a goddamned cat."

He was about to say something else when she hurled an inside kick towards his torso. He dodged her attack in surprise, but he also let go of her face. She jumped back and moved into a stance. He grinned. "So you wanna play? Cool."

Needless to say, one has to know how to fight if he/she wishes to be a guardian. It's one of the most basic and important requirements. As for her, she's not really in for battles like these, especially when her opponent is a universe stronger—but she had enough pride to die with honour. Well, she's already a dying girl at eighteen, anyway. Why not spend her last moments with a killer? She had nothing to lose. Now that she's sure of Kurapika helping them, her friends could still carry on with their goal.

She backflipped to maintain the distance as he lunged forward, then he disappeared. She gasped when he appeared right behind her, and poked something into her nape. It stung so badly, but she managed to turn right behind and gave him a roundhouse kick, aiming for his head. He dodged it with a chuckle.

"Not bad. But if I were you, I'd say goodbye now."

She jumped back again. "What the hell're you talking about?!"

He casually got his phone from his pocket as he pressed some buttons. What the heck? Was he sending sappy messages to his girlfriends in the middle of a fight? Using this distraction as an opportunity, she threw herself into a forward flip, coming down into a single-fist hammer blow on her right hand, and landed a kick between his legs. He barely dodged both, surprise flooding into his features as she continued to pour a series of attacks. He dodged them all, but the haughty smile was gone.

His left hand rose to make a blow out of her. Ducking the backhand she knew was coming, she was caught unprepared when it turned into a reverse elbow-smash in her chest. It sent her smashing into the wall. She saw millions of stars as she coughed blood.

Her vision became hazy as she fell into a heap on the floor. Most of her bones—and probably all of her ribs—were broken, and she coughed and sputtered warm liquid as he slowly walked up to her. She wheezed, every breath she took meant unimaginable pain. Then she felt her hair being held up roughly, tearing many strands at the process. He gripped her cheeks with his large hand, forcing her to look at him.

Bright cerulean versus defiant violet.

"I was planning to be gentle with you." He said darkly, all the cheeriness in his demeanor gone. "But it seems that you're more than just what I bargained for. If you want to live, you must answer two questions from me." He got the knife from her pocket and positioned it to her jugular. Stubborn violet eyes just stared weakly at him.

"Where is the Kurutan?"

_Kuru… what?!_

Her eyes widened in utter confusion and disgust. "What the... freaking bitches... are you.." cough, then wheeze. ".. saying? I never associate myself... with those creatures!" she coughed even more as she interjected one sentence in one agonizing breath. "They're all dead!"

He blinked twice, and smirked as realization hit him. She doesn't know a thing. "I was talking about Kurapika, kitty."

_Kurapika?!_

She felt the air leave her lungs as millions of emotions shot her with a series of bangs. Her baffled expression and disbelief became evident on her face

"Wha… what..? You're… no. You're lying. They're all dead. You're.. a dirty.. liar. You—"

"Next question. What is your nen ability?"

His next inquiry confused her even more. "W-what? I...ughh.. don't...hah, hah... have any!"

He pressed the blade into her neck deeper. A small rivulet of blood snaked down as she gasped. "Don't make me repeat myself."

She croaked. "I... hah.. told you! I-I have no idea what you're talking abo—guugh!" He drew a straight punch into her abdomen. She involuntarily bent down and coughed more blood. Then he positioned the blade to her side as he pulled her hair again.

"The questions weren't so hard, were they?" She panted and coughed as anger and confusion welled up into her wide eyes.

"I s-said… I don't.. know!" His brow twitched.

An ear-piercing scream of pain echoed in the tunnel.

"Now." he moved closer and whispered into her ear as she whimpered and sobbed and gasped continuously, clutching the deep laceration on her hip. Dark red liquid squirted into the floor and stained her clothes as the metallic stench filled the air. The vice grip on her hair was getting stronger, and she was quite sure that she'd be bald once she's laid in her coffin. Her vision darkened as the pain intensified. He continued to whisper darkly. "I'm not much of a torturer, and I really don't want to make my clothes dirty. But I'm not the best when I'm angry." He placed the blood-coated blade to her neck once again. "I'll ask again. Where is Kurapika?"

Despite the searing agony, she whispered softly. "…Kuta...bare."

Her head smashed into the wall once again with his head-butt.

He pulled back and examined her unconscious form. More blood trickled down from her temple to her chin, and some caked her hair. There's also a red pool on the floor. His eyes went back to its innocent and curious gleam as he shook her shoulders gently to wake her up. "Oi?" He tilted her head to the side and nudged her again. When she didn't respond, he pouted. "Kittty, don't sleep yet. You didn't answer my questiooons! Kitttttyyy?"

He gave a small huff as he stood up, his hands on his hips. "Guess I oughta bring you to Dancho—"

"Get the hell away from her."

"Hmmm?" He tilted his head to the side to meet a pair of bright scarlet eyes in a dancing inferno.

The enraged blond was heaving hard as perspiration decorated his forehead. He had gone into a frantic sprint as soon as he received the frightening message of the girl. He knew there was something wrong when she didn't arrive at the meeting place and when her phone became out of coverage, so he decided to track her down with the GPRS. It was a bit difficult to do since her phone was turned off. But as soon as he received what she sent, the application activated and he wasted no time in boarding the train.

One of his mortal enemies standing just a few meters from him… just enough distance to kill him. And then there was the girl…

"You retard. What the hell did she do to you!?" He screamed as he released his chain and hurdled it towards Shalnark. The teenager ducked beneath the chain that was about to strike him, and he gave a resounding applause as he jumped back.

"Well, well well! You finally came here, Kurapika-san! Wanna come with me to Chrollo's place?" The Kurutan growled and curled his chain to capture him. Shalnark jumped over the nen-infested weapon with ease and shot his dart-antennae at the Kurutan as he leaped towards the left to dodge the metal ball. It hit the floor and made an obvious crack to the surface. The Spider boy grinned.

"I just wanna let you know that your cute girlfriend could die with blood loss if you keep on fighting me." He made his signature pose as he smirked. The Kurutan hissed. "You bastard. She's not my girlfriend, and you're gonna die before her!"

Shalnark just smiled as he sprinted towards the train station, egging the Kurutan to chase him. "Try and catch me then!"

The two boys ran, punched, kicked, leaped, and ran again as both tried to beat the hell out of each other. One boy was smiling, and the other was overflowing with rage. Both didn't receive major injuries since they're the best in their own fighting abilities. They reached the train station in a matter of minutes.

"You no different from us, Kurapika-san." Shalnark said in a sing-song voice, his grin holding undeniable malice.

Kurapika's eyes blazed brighter as he jeered. "Don't you dare compare me with the likes of you!"

"Oh, but you aaare." He lifted one finger into the air as if he had a mental breakthrough. "You let an innocent girl die!"

His eyes widened as he stopped abruptly. Bullshit!

When his eyes turned back to the boy, he was already at the train's entrance. "I'd really love to kill you right now, Kurutan-san. But I don't want that little kitty to die yet. So 'till next time, Ja'ne!"

The lad hissed in agitation as the teenage Spider mockingly saluted him before the train doors closed. His eyes were brimming with the brilliant shade of red as he clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white and his fingernails digging into his flesh. He so wanted to plunge his fist into the boy's throat and beat him until he begs for death, but that was the least of his concern for the moment. He turned around and leaped towards the heavily broken and unconscious girl.

He immediately knelt down beside her, his face twisted in guilt and regret. She was oozing dark red liquid everywhere, and her face was black and blue. He immediately took off his tabard and long-sleeved shirt. He also took his sleeveless undershirt and tore it into strips. No time to see himself now, all he can think about was the immense weight of guilt welling upon his chest. He wrapped some of the strips around her head and neck, and he lifted her shirt slightly to dab the clothing on her wound hoping that the stream of blood would at least slow down. He checked for more life-threatening injuries, and felt a small blush creeping his neck when he saw prominent red stains on her chest.

With one final sigh, he reluctantly lifted her shirt up until the tip reached her shoulders. True enough, deep cuts and gashes from fractured bones caused the breakage of her skin. The wound extended from the center of her chest to the insides of her bra. He felt his blush deepen even more. Unlike most men, the physical exploration of the female anatomy was never written on his wish list. Kurutan people always practice the virtue of chastity, and it's fair to say that he had never experienced this situation before even though his mistress was a lady. Despite himself, uncharacteristic nervousness fluttered inside his stomach. He gripped into the strips of clothing tighter as he reached behind her to unclasp the hook.

_If something happens to me, please help my teammates instead. I will give you everything that I have—even my house. They're all yours. Just please aide them. Thank you very much._

After a few moments of securing her wounds, he was still bent on bringing her to a hospital since she lost a lot of blood. After putting his clothes back on, he swiftly hooked his arms under her knees and shoulders and carried her inside the train. Good thing that there was no one else inside or there would be millions of questions buzzing on about. He gently laid her down on to a long straight seat and slightly raised her head to let it rest on his lap to prevent the internal hemorrhage on her head from blocking the vital veins and arteries

Even though his anger towards the Spiders skyrocketed into abnormal heights, he found himself hating his own even more. Placing his wants above the very existence of others…that is something that he _can't _live down. His selfishness—for in reality, he knows that is what it means to have a goal in life, even one as worthy and justified as his own—could have cost him another innocent life so undeserving of his driven obsession. It's as if he was defying his own set of principles of relishing the importance of human life and respecting it. Hadn't he learned and experienced enough to know what it feels like to lose someone important for the expanse of someone else's greed?

_Do not taint her with pain she does not deserve._

_You're no different from us, Kurapika-san._

_You let an innocent girl die._

He felt as if he was standing in the middle of a blizzard and an avalanche fell right on top of his head. No matter how wretched those demons were, he was pretty messed-up too. He dare badmouth his own mistress when he nearly allowed his young friends to be killed once before. He knew that their willingness to help him, no matter how out of context it was, was mainly to let him live contentedly and leave the reason of killing the killers as his only purpose of surviving. Looking for his brethren's eyes would have been a simpler and less dangerous, though expensive cause-and this was his first thought when he decided to lure the girl into his deal. But in all honesty, he never thought that someone from the Troupe would take interest on her.

If he had truly been as cold-blooded and ruthless as he intended to be, the incident would have meant hitting two birds in one stone. But he could not bear the fact that he was doing _exactly _the same things that became the reason of his entire clan's massacre. And needless to say, even though he didn't have the slightest attachment with the girl-and probably never will have, he's sure that she has loved ones back at her home. And because of his unyielding desire to avenge his clan, her existence might soon be wiped out whether he liked it or not because he had pushed her into his own mess.

He can be the most callous and merciless person in the entire world, but his heart is still functioning well. And he's aware that if he carries on with this kind of paradigm, he will have the heart of a Spider in no time.

He would rather die a painful death than obtain that.

"I'm sorry."


	9. Bitter Ambivalence

**Au/N: **_Ahoyy! I'm really sorry for the late update. The start of another school year's just around the corner so I'm gonna be verrrrryyy busy *cries* and maybe I'll have even slower updates than this (and even slower replies with your messages wuhuhuhuh). I know that college will be an important crap to face so I must focus my head. But but but I'm never abandoning this story, no sir I won't! :D I would just like to ask for your patience and stuffs like that tehee. To those who reviewed on my story and gave such remarkable criticisms and compliments, THANK YOU! THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I would never have reached this far without your support! You know who you are, folks! And mind you, I'll be mentioning each and every single one of you once this story's gonna end Geez, I sound like I'm giving my last message ha-ha-ha xDD. LOVE YOU GUIIIZE *chuuuu* :x_

_Alert. Alert__**: **__This chapter is, frankly, not as exciting and sweat-breaking as the last :D full of little things, talking, bashing, anger…I mean angst. Or whatever. And I would also like to get special credits to HunterxHunter manga chapter 332! LOVE LEORIO TO BITS 3_

_Thank You Guise! Lovely lots, Kunoichi79th (EH?)_

_**So YEAH! Here's another chap. Blame the Thai version of Shutter and Coming Soon because I'm not getting a wink of sleep. Alert me for OOCness, please. And please feel free to review and criticize. :D**_

_(Oiii! I accidentally deleted the previous chapter so I have to repost this again. Moii apologieeeees! There were no changes heheheheh)_

* * *

The bright daylight warmed the dusty soccer fields as the object whizzed onto different sets of feet. Yells and screams of children playing in the area were as lively as the people walking leisurely around the vicinity. Ollie Grum was sitting by the benches, silently fixing his gaze towards his kid sister who was kicking the ball straight to the goal without giving that poor goalie a single chance. Gleeful guffaws were produced by her teammates as they high-fived and do a silly happy dance. The girl's bobbed her head in his direction and gave a cocky thumbs-up with a toothy grin. Many years ago, he was one of those hooligans who made the strongest kicks and invented the trashiest of childish retorts, and was often pulled by his momma by the ear to go home. Now, the tomboyish little devil's following his footsteps. He saluted back.

He stood up and lightly scratched his bright orange head—a gene so identical of his sister and dad—and stretched. A soccer ball rolled innocently towards him. Grinning at the freckled little girl's expectant gaze and her teammates' exuberant request, he bent down lazily to pick it up. Being busy is hard, but being busy with too much unanswered things and worries on his plate is _torture._

"Ollie?"

His hand stopped midway as he looked sideways—the gentle voice of a woman he was so familiar with.

"Lara, hey."

"Still no sign of her yet?"

The black-spotted white ball spiraled towards the group of boys as they hooted their thanks. The young man smiled gently, and mouthed a 'no probs' before casting his wistful gaze to the young woman standing beside him. He shook his head. "But she sent a text, though. Said she's fine."

The girl's jade eyes glistened with worry as she sat down, feeling the woody texture of the bench with a brush of her soft palms. She nibbled on her lower lip and looked anywhere but him. Her silky lavender hair carelessly cascaded down to her shoulders then to the small of her back, with some strands straying on the side of her face. He swallowed to calm his parched throat. _She's beautiful._

"She could at least tell us where she was…" was her sad reply, the gentle and musical tone rattling.

He could only nod in reply as lovely little birds flew and played overhead, each singing sweet songs of safe flirtation for their mates.

"She's going to be fine, I guess."

Lara looked up at him, and was met by warm chocolate orbs. As if a dark veil was being lifted off her face, she gave a bright smile that was worthy of the sun's jealousy. His breath hitched.

"Yes, I'm sure she will. Thank you, Ollie." The warmth spread around his body, most particularly somewhere in his cheeks.

The boy shuffled shyly and broke into a goofy grin in return. "Yeah." _At last… she's happy again._

"Krodd thinks so too, so I guess it must be true."

The girl's countenance changed drastically as she hummed a cheerful tune, feeling ecstatic that she was able to voice out her apprehension to a good friend, and giddy that a certain someone popped into her mind.

Because of her oblivious glee, she didn't even notice the pained expression of the person next to her.

_Kiddo, you better come back before I turn completely nuts._

* * *

...

"Two days."

The tall physique of a medical persona stood beside the bed of a heavily bandaged body. He had adjusted the flow of her IVs, poked an injection once or twice, or maybe even thrice into her arm, and gave the usual check for vital signs. The electrocardiogram was in constant rate, so her heart is functioning well.

He blew out a breath before he walked up to the cabinet. Opening the topmost drawer, he drew out a sphygmomanometer and went back to sit beside the barely-breathing patient. Wrapping the cuff around her upper arm loosely, he began pumping the rubber bulb and watched the numbers on the screen rise in silence. After a few moments, he released the valve to let the air escape, the cuff returning to its original shape. The blonde watched him quietly as he stood a few feet away.

"She's in a comatose state, but her condition is stable… thank goodness." The man began, his eyes studying the limp figure in front of him with his brows knitted together. His companion only nodded in reply, his eyes intently fixed on the ECG's screen. "Like I said, her scapula, ribs and sternum were shattered badly, and the stab wound reached up to her pelvic bone. I managed to stitch the deep cut, but it'll have a lifelong scar once it heals." The man stood up and adjusted his dark-colored glasses as he placed the equipment back to the drawer. He then sauntered towards the tinted windows and opened the translucent glass to let the daylight and the fresh air pass through. Gripping the metallic frames hard, he muttered angrily with his eyes closed and his brows meeting at the bridge of his nose."Damnit, Kurapika. I don't even have a license yet and you made me do a complicated surgery. I'm not even done with medical school!" He tried his best to control his temper, but it only resulted in an embryonic migraine.

The blonde quietly replied. "Thank you, Leorio. You did a great job."

The man, out of pure frustration, slapped his hand towards the frame. It rattled loudly in response. He turned to him, his head tilted continuously to the sides while clicking his tongue in revulsion. The blonde watched him in confusion as his forehead creased, his face showing extreme annoyance and disbelief. He squinted his eyes several times and gnashed his teeth against each other. Kurapika frowned. What's wrong with this guy?

"Do you have any idea worried we all were? Do you have any inklin' idea what happened during the times when you were gone?"

Kurapika sighed.

Great, now he's opening it once again.

For the _umpteenth_ time.

His fists clenched tightly as he stepped closer to the boy, his eyes mixed with anger and disgust. "I can't even count how many times we called you—how many times _I _called you. Gon nearly died. He nearly _fucking_ died Kurapika. He should have, if Killua and his kid sister… I mean brother… or whatever… didn't arrive on time. Even that little brat had difficulty trying to save him. For the love of God, I nearly took old man Netero's place! Senritsu's really worried about you. She said you rarely even talk to her anymore, or anyone. Do you have any idea how much pain you're giving to the people who cared for you? Or you just don't care at all?"

The blonde's eyes turned downcast and he quietly responded. "I know all of that."

"You little-!" The older man made a disdainful cry. He raised his fist, wanting to hit the unbelievable mouth. But it made its own course and was slammed on the yellow wall."You know _every single thing _and you didn't even bother to… ask what the fuck we're doing?!" He wasn't shouting, but the tone in his voice was the most venomous tone he had ever heard from the man in his life.

"Leorio.." He sighed exasperatedly. "I thought we're through with this."

The man made a sharp breath, as if he was ready to strike any time soon. Kurapika waited for the upcoming blow. He was willing to take everything in; let the guy punch him, beat him to death, say all the words of the malignant voices that was forever screaming in his nightmares._ Anything. _Just to release him from the chains of guilt that was pulling him down. Maybe his previous teacher was right; his revenge would always have a big price to pay. But in any case, he was more than willing to even hand over the downpayment. But the assault he was expecting did not arrive; instead, the other man shook his head and calmed down a bit (much to his disappointment). Fixing a soft gaze upon the girl who received the worst of luck, he spoke in a tired voice.

"I understand that resolve of yours, kid." Kurapika felt slightly ticked. Leorio never addressed him that way before-at least after the Hunter Exam. "But treating us like trash... I can't understand that. It's like we never even knew each other. Like the Hunter Exam and our concern for you during the York Shin trouble was just some goddamned excuse. And now you're throwing this girl's life carelessly around."

Kurapika's eyes softened as the man continued.

"I know, I know. You already told me that."

The man shot him a dirty look. "Oh shut up. You act as if you know everything, now look what you have done."

The blonde could only sigh. He can't think of a good retort anymore.

"You're supposed to be the smart one among us, you know. But I guess you're just full of shit sometimes…" He shook his head and rubbed his face with the palm of his hands. . "… The nerve to show up here and bring her after blank years…." He sighed bitterly. "I'm torn between being happy to see you and wanting to bash your head on my metal drawers."

Despite the amalgam of pure anger and concern in the air, Kurapika gave the smallest hint of a smile.. not the plastic façade that he usually practiced, but a sincere one that's reserved only for his closest friends. "You're the kindest man out there, Leorio. Once again, thank you."

He scoffed embarrassedly and scratched his head, "Sheesh, Kurapika. Don't get all sappy with me."

The blonde blinked. "I wasn't being. I only expressed gratitude."

Leorio clicked his tongue, his eyes rolling in a childish manner. "Still a fuggin' smartass. You haven't changed at all."

The blond smirked coyly. "I did. I'm as tall as you now."

"But I'm still hotter."

"Oh?" Kurapika didn't even miss a beat when he replied. "Who told you that?"

The man threw a crumpled paper in the blonde's direction while he snorted. Obviously, it missed. Kurapika raised an amused brow. "Cheh, shut up."

"I haven't spoken a word."

"Go to hell and get laid, goddamnit."

Some things never changed. And by that, he's glad.

* * *

"What's wrong with you?"

"I just can't…" He turned away from him, his eyes a mix of strong but unreadable expressions. "I just can't understand… why, of all the people, do you have to pick on _her_!"

The younger man glanced questioningly at the girl, then at him.

"She's from a freaking rich family, Kurapika! She's the niece of Sharon Saoirse! I told you, didn't I?! Her name is Jaran Saoirse! She's from York Shin! York Shin, you hear me?! And I don't even know where that Peace City is!" Leorio nearly screamed as veins popped on his forehead. The afternoon warmth filled the cozy room, but it did little to help the bewildered man.

The blonde's scowl deepened as he whispered sharply. "Leorio, keep your voice down!"

"You won't believe me! How am I supposed to calm down after you brought a bloody hell of a girl in the middle of the night in my apartment!? And of all the girls out there, it has to be _my _former classmate who disappeared in midair!" His yell dissipated into a harsh whisper, but the glint of confusion in his eyes was still there.

The Kurutan seized the man's arm with little effort—he had grown much taller and stronger over the years—and dragged him outside the washed-white room by the arm. The other man struggled, royally pissed that his manly pride of standing his own guard was stepped on by another; his mouth howling all the colorful obscenities he can manage.

They abruptly stopped by the balcony as Leorio snatched his arm away. "Do you want me to let you see a class picture for proof?!"

He crossed his arms in front of his chest as he replied with defiance. "Don't treat me like a fool, Leorio. I have read her files. I know who she is and where she's from. Her birth certificate and all the information about her said Jaran Almanov."

Leorio's tried to surpress an incredulous chuckle. "So you have become a stalker now? You're getting creepier each day."

The blond rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Stop acting so immature. I need to know who I'm dealing with before I make a plan."

Leorio narrowed his eyes at him. "What makes you so sure you really know her?"

The blonde glared at the man as he pushed his bangs back; a rare habit he executed when he's under pressure. They continued the head-on glowering contest until one of them gave a huff and looked away. The said person bore his jaw.

"Fine then_. _Tell me what you know."

He smirked. _Finally, I got to pin this pride of him down._

**Really short and not so good-no, REALLY BAD for a late update, I know. :\ But who is Jaran, really? And now that Shalnark gave her an idea of who Kurapika really was, what would happen? Lies, lies, uncovered truths, Ohh My. :D stay tuned! He-he. **Oooooh Mona Lisa! he-he-he. (PANIC AT THE DISCO FTW! :3)


	10. Cliff

_I was SUPPOSED to be studying for bucketloads of exams. Well, SUPPOSED TO. :'3_

_Criticism and reviews will be welcomed. I think I'm missing something in all of my chapters (a certain idea perhaps?), but I can't pinpoint specifically. Mind telling me what it is? :\ Please alert me if the story's starting to be a drag._

_ooooOOOOoooo_

_"I'll give you fifty."_

_She only stared at the thing laid before her. In the point of view of a normal 8-year old, a white napkin is only something that's placed on the collar when eating spaghetti. By any sense, there's almost a certain ring of truth in this statement._

_Almost. But not quite._

_Averting her gaze from the piece of linen, she turned towards the disheveled figure of a middle-aged man on the far corner of the dimly-lit Victorian repository. To say that he was slightly crazed would be an understatement: a psychiatrist would declare him to be placed in a mental ward in haste. He nodded, but he wasn't looking at her; he was staring off with the fierce concentration of a man trying to hold on to his dinner. Her eyes went back to the person speaking._

_A tall, beautiful Valkyrie woman, scantily-dressed with seductive eyes and dark smoky laughs sat in front of the terrified girl. With legs crossing in the most provocative manner and the perfect poise gracing her form, she motioned the tinier female to the door, daring her to open it. Beads of cold perspiration decorated the girl's forehead as her lips quivered and tears formed in the corner of her eyes. But she held back desperately. She must not cry, or she will receive another punishment._

_She threw her inner battle to the side and reached for the doorknob. Already she was braced for the worst. Only moments ago, she had arrived exhausted, trying to shake herself awake; now she could feel tension like static through her nerves._

_She walked through the living room into the dining room, where she saw four chairs around an intricately-carved pine table. But it was not the furniture she focused on; it was the place settings that had been laid out on the table, as though for a family meal. Dinner for four._

_One of the plates had a linen napkin draped over it, the fabric with maroon dots. It was identical to the fabric the woman gave, minus the dotty design. Lifting it up by the corner, she took one look at what lay underneath it, on the plate. Instantly, she dropped the napkin and stumbled backwards, a gurgled cry escaping her lips._

"_I see you found the left hand and some of the fingers. Very beautiful, aren't they?" The woman's purr invaded her thoughts._

_But who was she to take control over the situation? She was just a child. Hence she was completely powerless._

_Her entire future was doomed forever._

"_I'll give you fifty, Jaraquelin. Do as what your father and I say."_

_She felt pain. Pain in all parts of her body. Burning, scalding, wrapping around her like blazing barbed wires. Suddenly, everything was enshrouded with flames. The furniture, books, and just about everything—even the woman and the man. They all melted as if they were made of poor-quality candlesticks and wax. Then, as if manipulated by an unseen powerful entity, a brighter and more menacing red ball of gas formed in front of her face and caused her eyes to water. Drawing her near, reaching out to her, tempting her… she reached out._

_She watched her fingers turn into skeleton, and to the burning gas in front of her._

_It was an eye._

* * *

"So, you're saying that your little friend never believed you?"

The barista girl clicked her tongue a couple of times in amusement, setting the new cup of coffee a few inches away from the man who ordered. She noted the depressed air surrounding him and shook her head as he failed to even notice that his coffee was starting to get cold. "Dude, at least don't throw your 120 jennies away."

"… Eli, If he hears you saying that," He muttered while burying his head deeper into his arms "He shall skin you alive."

"Considering _your _description of him, I believe I'm the lesser devil here." She countered.

"Whatever."

The girl raised a brow when his constant grumblings were muffled by his clothes. "What?"

"I said," He sat up with his droopy eyes narrowing towards her, his hand supporting his head. "Do I look like a joke or something?"

She paused momentarily, and gave a lopsided grin. "Definitely a mixture of both 'something' and a 'joke.' Why d'you ask?"

"Just what have I done to deserve this harsh treatment from you?" A fountain of tears overflowed on the countertable as Leorio Paladiknight wailed. She simply smiled. "I'm just trying to cheer you up."

He was about to make a suave comeback when his phone vibrated. Peeling his eyes off the girl with difficulty, he turned his attention to the obnoxious blinking of the bug-like device. He was thinking of disregarding it completely as he flipped the technology open, most preferably till death do us part.

"Can you at least give me a little space to—?!"

"_Leorio, get back here immediately."_

Leorio felt his eyebrow twitch. "Annoying little ass. I've been slumped all day and afternoon for god-knows-how many-days doing nothing but count the hairs on my arm and wait till the kid wakes up!" He detached the cover from the cup and swallowed a generous mouthful. "Hell, Kurapika, I do declare myself worthy of having a break, unlike _other _bastards out there who thinks they're a megastructured machine!" He then narrowed his eyes and sneered while slamming the cover. "And, w_hyyyy _should I even bother listening to you when you accused me of being a liar?"

" _Is her regained consciousness enough reason for you, oh ridiculously smart and highly being of pure unadulterated wisdom?"_

"No, it's not a good reason! Why, aren't you capable of handling her yourself? Huh? Scared of an injured girl? And by the way, it's not even happening in about ten more days in… what?" He blinked rapidly for five long seconds before the words sank in. "… Skyoooz me?"

"_She's awake, Leorio."_

He sat there, wide eyed. "Ah?" Then, "Did she say anything?" He prodded, half hoping that the girl threw a rampage.

"_No. Apparently, she's not making even the slightest gurgle."_

"Ohhh." He didn't mask his disappointment. Then he raised a brow. "So, what're you chicken about? I see nothing wrong with that." He slumped lazily on one of the chairs near the counter. He grabbed another chair and placed his feet on them and placed his free hand behind his head, earning a dirty look from Eli. He apologetically retracted his legs back.

"_Let me tell you that this being is not entirely a delicate little damsel, and I'd be more disturbed if she's not lashing out vipers and beasts out her tongue, which is, just so you know, the case as of the moment."_

"So?" The young doctor frowned, trying to figure out his friend's point. "She just woke up, you idiot. If I found myself in a strange place wrapped like a cocoon and hurting everywhere with a smartass chick-dude on my side, I'd be_ absolutely _thrilled. Why're you so bothered about her silence?"

_"That's not my only concern._ _ Before she woke up, it seemed to me that she was in a bad dream." _A pause, then, _"She nearly dislodged the IV from her arm. Good thing I was there before she completely wrecked everything."_ Leorio gasped._ "Don't fret, your things were not destroyed. But her bandages were completely torn to pieces."_

A part of his mind clicked. His mouth twitched into a smirk before he could stop himself. "Oh, I seeeeeeeee. So, you're scared of tits then?"_  
_

"_Leorio, would you –" _He could hear the other line's teeth gnashing "—_keep your perverted mind off the gutter?" _Kurapika's angry protests were drowned by his singsong tunes and 'lalalalas' before the call was rudely ended. His thoughts were still on high (he blamed it on the coffee) when his phone beeped obnoxiously.

To: Leorio

If you want the spiders to be the only ones whom I can exercise my chains to, then _please _come back here and shut the hell up.

From: Kurapika.

"What a lame excuse for blackmail." He grumbled to himself as he stood up and arranged the chairs back. The frown that initially decorated his forehead slowly dissipated and was replaced with an expression filled with longing as she fixed his gaze discreetly towards the bubbling Eli. When he got to the counter, he sat on one of the metal chairs while fumbling on his pocket for pennies. She, who was talking to the next set of costumers, turned his way and winked. He felt his heart pulsating in his throat.

…_. Ah, screw it._

The coins made a small _ching-chak _as he dropped them onto the counter. The chair made a scraping sound as he stood and head for the door. Feeling her confused stare, he felt the strong urge to look back.

_Stop it, you hormonal dumbass! You still got some shit to do!_

Fine, whatever.

He turned the doorknob and felt the whoosh of autumn chill as he stepped out.

**Au/N:** I KNOW, I know. A short and lame chapter. A cliffhanger. A very bad one. I named the chapter 'Cliff' bichuzzz I know that it's a freaking cliffhanger. And you're gonna strangle me till I pass out.

I hereby promise to everyone that the next (and succeeding chapters) will be purely KurapikaxJaran gigs. And if you may, please leave your comments and bashing and criticisms and suggestions and flames and tomatoes and vomit and, yeah, reviews. I feel like I'm getting worse in every chapter. Stress, much? Lolol x)))

I do NOT own Eli and the Coffee Nook—they're from the fic 'At The Coffee Shop'. Missy Paperoo, the author, was so kind to let me borrow her sweet character for a while (THANK YOU SO MUCH, PARE! :* ) I hope I didn't make her OOC and destroyed her good name. -_-


	11. READ PLEASE AND RESPOND :)

Ahoy to my loveliest lovelies! :3

I'm pretty sure some of you are wondering why on earth I am posting some kind of an author's note as a 'chapter' when I could've just inserted it on the end of an episode or something. As you can see, I got a little trouble with my latest updates—laptop broke down, file got deleted etch. What a scream. I already finished 2 chapters and was working on the 13th when the MOST AMAZING OF LIGHTNINGS cracked right in our front porch (there was a storm that day) and took the electricity out (dunno how it happened but it did). I got this habit of taking out the laptop's battery and simply plugging it to the socket so that the batts will not be damaged. ABSOLUTELY stupid of me, I know. But I was really ill that day, so I was pretty disoriented. Still.. T^T I learned my lesson the HARD way, so there. Don't throw tomatoes yet, kay? *sniff* I'm in the process of remaking them.

Casting those quintessence and elixir aside, I want to ask for your opinion regarding the fic. I'm thinking of shifting it to 1st person point of view, but I'm afraid it might get confusing or just plain annoying because of the constant shifts. So to all of you people (even to the ones who read my fic just recently), here's my inquiry. You can give your answers down to the review box thingy:

_Is it cool if I'd go back to the 1__st__ person point of view or should I just stick to the 3__rd__ person thing? WHAT DO YOU THINK? Please state your reasons as well._

**Please tell me what you think, guys! If you don't have an account, then just sign up as a guest reader. If you have, then better. You can tell me what you think and give out the most logical or even weirdest reasons for all I care. Your opinions will be highly appreciated! **

And last but not the least. THANK YOU! THANK YOU VERY MUCH for all the reviews and for staying with this fic right up to the present! You guys… have absolutely NO IDEA how glad I am then and right now for posting my very first story in this fandom. You guys are the best and the nicest bunch to actually give out tons of advice and criticisms and comments to a story as noobs as mine. I know I told you that the credits will only be given right after the last chap, but for the love of cabbage roses! You guys deserve it! XD

THANK YOU!  
**Skywaters, angelsanddemons01, Nispedana, ConnorO'Neil444, Angelic Fluffle, DW-Chan** (to be honest, I never really thought you'd actually read my fic LOLOL XD), **Sherry, Guest, complicatedmind21, OkitaRin, RosyRain, asdfgirl, Guest2, Guest 3, Guest 4, Scrooge, BlackRabbitpyon, Paperoo, Shadow Toucher **(Natsew? Eheheh :3)**, lisa heartnet, Shasha, ChocoKiller, Z, random girl, Miki—and all the readers whom I failed to mention.**

You guys—and all the viewers—keep me going. Mahal ko kayong lahat. X'3


	12. Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth

Au/N: **My dearest friends! :D THANK YOU for the reviews and the suggestions you made on my note. AND I AM SORREEEE for not updating as fast as I could! :O My dear muse left me utterly powerless, you see. Author's block can be a terrible thing, and there are times wherein I couldn't help but feel fluffy, hence my oneshots were conceived. (concieved? wow big word).**

As you can see, I have been enlightened (yes, ENLIGHTENED), and the result of your votes proved the 1st person POV to win. Lol, so I'm not the only one who'd love to see how our characters think, eh? *fufufu* But in any case, I made one last third-person POV chapter because I'm having a blast out of it :D But all your suggestions are highly regarded! :) I love you guys.

Before I'd start the chap, I wanna thank the following people for their efforts to comment and suggest:

**A reader, random girlz, ChocoKiller, ShadowToucher, Sherry, Paperoo, Ayu** **Yui.**  
And** Scrooge, random girlz, and ConnorO'neil! **Sorry for the late update lol :))

And I changed my writing style a bit. I really love to taste dangerous waters.

Hope to see you at the bottom, my lovelies! :D

Nowplaying# Sometimes by Skillet and Broken Wing by Thousand Foot Krutch. _Both songs are rock, so if you don't like rock, well :)) _

=SooooooS=

She was sick

Sick, sick, sick.

Sick, sick, mad, deranged, wild, all the fucking world may crash and burn around her and she would still be sick.

She felt that mud was pumped through her veins instead of blood. Blood. Mud. Blood.

It didn't help when she woke up in a white room feeling extremely sore all over. And when she saw the bandages and when she had difficulty in breathing. No it didn't. May the person responsible rot in hell. No, marinated over muriatic acid in a span of 10000 years over and over again. And rot in hell.

No, actually it did help. To her insanity, that is.

Then she found herself in a strange room loaded with medical things which were familiar to her by name, but unfamiliar by feeling. Fear overpowered pain.

_Where am I?_

Violent spasms racked her petite form. Suddenly, she was transported into somewhere dark, but not entirely dark. It was bleary and hot. Suddenly, she could hear someone whispering.

"_Burn burn burn burn doaswhatyourfathersaylittlegirl"_

Her head spun and she fell down to the floor. The tiles changed into different colors: from baby blue to glaring white to red to black. It kept getting hot and cold in random places. The whispering turned to hissing. She stared at her clothes. They were talking to her. They were hissing. They were moving.

"_Jaraqueline! Jaraqueline! Wanna play?"_

"_-youhavenothingnothingnothing…"_

"_-youworthlesslittlebitch…"_

"_-Jaran! Jaraqueline!"_

She desperately pulled away from them as they tried to choke her. _No she don't want play, no no no. _But the white ribbons were too strong for her, and her body too weak. She rolled over and knocked something out. She didn't know what it was, but her head hurt. And her body as well.

_Play! Play! Play! Do as what we say!_

Then everything suddenly became a mix and mash of colors. Pretty colors. Dark colors. She laid on her back. Somehow she felt so cold and exposed. Looking down, it seemed to her that the ribbons finally set her free. She smiled. They asked for an apology and she forgave them. The important thing was that she was free.

Then the world changed into a library. Her eyesight was still very cloudy but she found it familiar. The ceiling kept getting farther and closer, and that made her laugh a bit. Silly thing, what was it doing? She sat up and became disoriented when she was transported back into that white room once again. Huh, weird. Then a flying blue python curled beneath her legs and placed her back into the bed in slow motion.

Then she heard ten voices speaking to her in different languages.. no, five. No, three.

And then something was waved in front of her eyes. It was a funny mixture of yellow and flesh, and there was two brown dots that was shaped like a cat's eye.

"… _s robably he ide ffect of he edative… used..by.. orio…" _

She focused on the brown dots. She saw this before. When was it?

"… _ou eed nything..? can get.. ou.."_

Her mind felt blank.

She was touched. There was noise. There was talking. She was touched again. She became warm.

She heard a door closing. Her mind processed. There was something familiar about that hair.

_Blonde…? blonde.. blonde.. _

_Blond. Kurapika._

_Fortele. Pazitors_

_Spiders. Kurutan. Bastard. _

_Jaran Almanov._

_The dream._

A tidal wave of memories drowned her.

Then, a strong feeling ensued.

_Hatred. Resentment. Revenge. _

…_._

_Kill him softly._

=SooooooS=

Evening fell deeper than Kurapika had liked as he rubbed his reddening eyes, though not from emotional strain. He needed to take his contacts back as Light might call on him any minute now. Trust Leorio to take his damned sweet time that he even made dinner for himself and finished. Knowing him, he probably fawned over the women that came his way. He could only shake his head in dissatisfaction. Leorio was, and will always be Leorio.

The photographs on his hand were not worn out by age, probably taken only two or three years ago. Kurapika stretched a bit on the blue sofa before gathering the others that were strewn all over the table and on the carpet. He didn't mind getting less than tidy, granting he was to bring some with him anyway. Before putting the segregated bunch into the manila envelope, he took one last scan of them.

Frowning deeply, he snatched the yearbook that Leorio gave him. He already memorized the exact page granting he checked and rechecked several times. A plain-looking girl with a seemingly uninterested gaze stared back at him. She wore the university's uniform and her hair was fixed into a very neat bun, but other than that, there was nothing else—unlike other female students he encountered along the previous pages who by any sense could be mistaken for stage performers.

_Name: Jaraqueline Vygotski Saoirse  
Date of Birth: January 1  
Place of Birth: York New, Yorbian Continent  
Father: Ptiches Saoirse  
Mother:  
Guardian/s (optional): Sharon Saoirse  
Siblings:_

He took the other folder, the one he brought in Peace City. Now the pictures seemed more recent than the last, but undeniably still the same person. Her face held a little expression, closing to a laid-back smirk. Two small earrings on each of her ears and the outfit she wore was a black military fatigue.

_Name: Jaran Almanov  
Date of Birth: August 10__  
Place of Birth: Peace City, Azian Continent (80 miles south of Kakin)  
Father: Craus Almanov (deceased)  
Mother: Sunny Shane (deceased)  
Guardian/s (optional):  
Siblings:_

How this girl had two authentic personal records with different contents he demanded to know. Not only that, the mystifying fact that Senritsu could not decipher her heartbeat troubled him all the more. No normal human being could accomplish that; not even the ones who could use nen (albeit very few). That is, unless his friend had lost her auditory sense, which was deemed impossible. And Leorio's vivid description of her family status and lifestyle in comparison to her simplicity in Peace City… absolute opposites.

_Who was she, exactly? And what was the occupation of her parents? And how were they linked to the Scarlet Eyes?_

She was a girl with no striking abilities, nor did she have unimaginable strength and tolerance. A bit on the sensible side, but not exactly a braniac. Even her physical appearance wasn't that pronounced. To sum it all up, she was simply an average teenager.

So why didn't the Spider member finish her off? Not that he wanted him to, no of course not. But Shalnark stretched as much as he thought about bringing her to their _demonic _danchou. Yes, he heard what the boy said.

He bore his jaw.

_Why?_

How he hated unanswered questions with a passion. He might as well rank them second to the Spiders.

No, scratch that. He hated both equally.

He sat the files down and tugged at the collar of his suit. The discomfort of the business attire waned his walk towards the kitchen slightly, causing him to tug here and there on his pants. Senritsu once told him he looked quite appealing and more mature as he got down the mansion one night to accomplish a mission alongside Neon given by Light. Even Basho hooted some perverted comment, saying he became less girly and could probably have a good romping by the brink of dawn. He left extremely unamused, much to his co-workers' enjoyment, and suffered five hours with provocative teenage girls who often gave him more than seductive winks and kinky requests. He refused to wear a suit right after that incident, save now that he was assigned to yet another request to guard one of Light's partners for a night.

His throat itched for water, and like a desperate child to his long-lost mother, he poured a glassful and chugged the liquid in one gulp. His hands trembled and his heart thudded as he put the glass down, his eyes brimming with the shade many billionaires would have killed to get. His gaze traveled around the room and stopped at a particular door.

_His mother. Where in heaven could she be right now?_

He forcibly blinked those random thoughts away. _Focus, Kurapika._

The patient inside was awake and her condition was sane (or so he thought), but far from being well. She remained passive, almost close to being completely unresponsive. Normally someone in her situation would have thrown a fit or would have condemned a person like him—but it was like her sensory nerves halted. As if she remained dead with eyes open and in a sitting position.

_Dead. _He grimaced. What a terrible choice of word.

Miserable was all he felt in the past few says. Miserable, guilty, sick to his stomach, angry at himself. He does have a heart after all. A huge one, if you may.

Only that it was wrapped in thick layers of ice for eight years. Perhaps melted once or twice by friends, yet still iced... but not too cold to feel the crushed bones and heavy patches of bruises upon his shoulders. And possibly the uncertain future. Not to mention the frantic friends.

To cover all her expenses was the least he could do. Although he was quite certain that this wouldn't be enough to be forgiven of what he did. And was about to do.

Dark bags under his eyes proved his lack of sleep. Kurapika avoided mirrors as much as he could, but beside the door was a floor-length oval reflection of a lad who looked much older and death-drawn than he was supposed to. He moved to turn the knob, but hesitated as soon as his cold hands touched the colder metal.

He wouldn't have known about Jaran's (or rather, Jaraqueline's) involvement regarding the eyes anyway if Bradwin hadn't mentioned the very thing that piqued his interest greatly, hence she wouldn't have lost much of her sanity on that fateful night. He half-wished Bradwin hadn't said anything at _all _to have saved any trouble. It was a good thing his contacts were intact and his emotions were kept when she was sedated and led out, or he would have barged inside the room with the reason of demanding what the hell was that all about.

They left the place in agitated spirits that time, each one having individual reasons. It was something he wouldn't have believed right away, but also something he could not just forget. So as soon as the Nostrade crew was put to rest, the boy stealthily made his advances towards the 24-hour cafe across the street. It was funny how the dark underworkers were so in tuned with the internet that he discovered a lot of things in a matter of minutes. Had he not put on his contacts, the people would have run away in fear. Not that there was a lot to begin with.

_'... Craus Almanov. 43 years of age. Worked as the chief ophthalmologist and eye surgeon at Liniste Hospital for ten years. Said to be involved in an intensive study regarding gene regeneration through nanotechnology. Married Sunny Shane and lived together for 5 years. Name of offspring was unknown..'_

_'... Man was said to be quite agreeable and kind. On the third year of his marriage, he became withdrawn to the public. Resigned as a doctor and kept himself locked inside his room. Reports of physical assault towards the child and mother rose. It was also rumored that he worked for mafia dons, though not proven. Received therapy and recovered after a year. Went back to his job and retook his position. Two weeks after his resubmission, he was killed in a traffic car crash alongside his wife. Child was taken cared by neighbors since there were no relatives present...'  
_

_'... two weeks after the couple's demise, several banking agencies claimed Craus to be heavy with large debts. The reason of which was because of his extravagant purchases of a very rare object called the Scarlet Eyes, the eyeballs of an extinct tribe named Kuruta. To pay off his debt, all his belongings and insurances must be given to the banks..'_

_'... His house was searched thoroughly. No traces of the objects he purchased was found inside..'_

The information itself made him see red all over.

He was sure she would know something.

Then at that morning, the girl was nowhere to be found. It was then he decided his plan the moment he saw the girl peering at him on that bridge.

His head felt extremely heavy. Nauseated, he leaned his back on the door and slid down to the floor.

"_By what, Kurapika? Altering your attitude? Forcing yourself to be out of character so that the poor girl would be attracted to you? Being fraudulently… charming? All this so that you can get what you wanted? Do you have any idea that you can leave an irrevocable scar to someone undeserving of your selfishness once your plan works out? __… Please, Kurapika. Don't."_

He still needed more information regarding the missing 'Fortele', by the way. He gathered a few, but it wasn't enough. A deal was a deal.

Perhaps Senritsu was right all along? The entire thing was a wrong move after all—

_No. _

_I have to sacrifice everything—including my righteousness. _

It was too late to back down now. He had to get this over with.

_I'm sorry Gon, Killua, Leorio, Senritsu.. Forgive me please, Kurutabou clan. Forgive me as well, Miss Almanov._

_I have become rotten._

He got up and pushed the door open.

The lamp beside the floor flickered once. He frowned. Leorio should replace the light bulb before it turns completely dysfunctional. The room was better ventilated than outside though.

Her position was very much the same as how he left it. He wondered if it was uncomfortable for her.

"I must be out for a while," He started as gently as he could, and continued when he received no response. "Nostrade gave me an assignment for the night. Your doctor will be here soon so you don't have to worry. I have a feeling you know him."

She stared impassively in front of her.

"As what I've said earlier, you don't have to worry about the expenses. Please take your time to rest and recover." He turned around and headed for the door. Clearly, there was no sense in talking to a blank. He just hoped she heard maybe somewhere in her subconscious. He turned the knob.

"ohkerhh.."

He froze.

The voice was soft and hoarse, like the owner was screaming inside a padded cell for four days. He looked back. Lifeless violet eyes bore into him. His eyes widened for a fraction before acknowledging her agreement. Had she understood all along?

As quickly as it came, her head robotically went back to its original position.

Will the gods be able to forgive him after this? To deceive someone was a sin, after all.

Little did he know, said girl was thinking of the same course of action. The only difference was the motive.

=SooooooooooooS=

**RAWR my OC is a bitch! :))**

**I figured Kurapika's softer side is more appropriate for this chapter. I'm sure that behind his stoic and logically brutal mask is a broken boy with a kind heart. Whereas for Jaran.. *fufufufu*..  
**

**My readers will probably diminish by one half by the next chapters because of this XD So guys, tell me what you think? :D Comments, suggestions, spelling and grammar corrections, violent reactions, and tomatoes will be appreciated with open arms. And hark all ye heralds! I might (MIGHT) update faster bechuzzz intramurals is fast approachehnnn :3**

**-Kunoichi79 **


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